Connected car as a payment device

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable media are described for using a vehicle as a payment device. Various aspects may include receiving a selection of a stored financial card or financial account at a vehicle head unit. The selected financial card or financial account may be transmitted to a point-of-sale (POS) terminal for making a payment by transmitting a tokenized card number to the POS terminal. The tokenized card number may be transmitted over a very short-range communication link to ensure that the transmission is secure. For example, electronic circuitry may be attached to the exterior of the vehicle, where the electronic circuitry may be within a threshold distance (e.g. one inch, three inches, six inches, one foot, three feet, etc.) of the POS terminal. The tokenized card number may be transmitted from the vehicle head unit to the electronic circuitry and then to the POS terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/428,646 entitled “Connected Car as a Payment Device,” filed on Feb.9, 2017, which claims priority to and the benefit of the filing date of(1) provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62/295,596 entitled“Connected Car as a Payment Device,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016, (2)provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62/360,008 entitled “ConnectedCar as a Payment Device,” filed on Jul. 8, 2016, and (3) provisionalU.S. Patent Application No. 62/362,148 entitled “Connected Car as aPayment Device,” filed on Jul. 14, 2016, the entire contents of each ofwhich is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems, methods, apparatus,and non-transitory computer readable media for using a vehicle as apayment device and, more particularly to completing a financialtransaction by communicating from a vehicle to a point-of-sale (POS)terminal.

BACKGROUND

Today, vehicle occupants pay for several goods and services while thevehicle occupants are inside or near their vehicles, such as food, fuel,a car wash, etc. Typically, the transaction takes place by swiping afinancial card such as a credit or debit card at a POS terminal or byproviding cash or the financial card to an employee of the establishmentwhich provides the goods or services. However, this requires a vehicleoccupant to constantly carry cash and/or financial cards when makingpurchases, get out of her vehicle to make payments, and/or exchange cashor a financial card with an employee, which may be a time-consumingprocess.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present embodiments may relate to using a vehicle as a paymentdevice, so that users may remain inside their vehicles when makingpayments for goods and services, such as food, fuel, a car wash, etc. Anapplication may be stored within an infotainment system (also referredto herein as a “vehicle head unit”) of a vehicle which stores datarepresenting financial cards for making payments. To retrieve one of thestored financial cards for making a payment at a drive-thru, fuelstation, etc., the user may select an indication of a financial card atthe infotainment system.

In response to the user's selection, the infotainment system maytransmit the selected data over a short-range communication link to aPOS terminal (also referred to herein as a “merchant communicationterminal”) at the drive-thru, fuel station, etc. The POS terminal maythen process the payment using the transmitted data and/or transmit anelectronic receipt to be displayed on the infotainment system. In someembodiments, for additional security and/or to establish a communicationlink between the infotainment system and the POS terminal, electroniccircuitry may be proximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle,such as at or near the fuel tank cap (also referred to herein as a “fuelcap”). The electronic circuitry may receive the selected data from theinfotainment system over a first short-range communication link, and/ortransmit the received data to the POS terminal over a second veryshort-range communication link.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of using an autonomousvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The method mayinclude: (1) generating (via one or more processors in an autonomousvehicle) a virtual map display of a geographic area includingindications of merchant locations that accept vehicle payments, whereinthe merchant locations are preferred locations for a user as indicatedby user preferences; (2) determining (via the one or more processors viaa fuel level sensor) that an amount of gasoline in the autonomousvehicle is less than a threshold amount of gasoline; (3) selecting (viathe one or more processors) one of the merchant locations included inthe virtual map display which provides gasoline and accepts virtualpayments; and/or (4) generating and providing (via the one or moreprocessors) navigation directions for the autonomous vehicle to navigateto the selected merchant location. Upon arriving at the selectedmerchant location, the method may further include: (4) transmitting (viathe one or more processors and/or associated transceivers, and/or awired or wireless communication and/or data transmission over a radiolink or wireless communication channel) to a merchant communicationterminal at the merchant location, a request to purchase gasolineincluding authorizing payment for the gasoline; upon detecting, via thefuel level sensor, that a gas tank of the autonomous vehicle is full,(5) transmitting (via the one or more processors and/or associatedtransceivers, and/or a wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission over a radio link or wireless communication channel) arequest to stop fueling the vehicle; and/or (6) receiving (via the oneor more processors and/or associated transceivers, and/or a wired orwireless communication and/or data transmission over a radio link orwireless communication channel) an electronic receipt for the gasolinepumped into the autonomous vehicle by the merchant communicationterminal to facilitate commercial transactions using vehicle payments.The method may include additional, fewer, or alternative actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to use an autonomousvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more processors, transceivers, and/or sensorsconfigured to: (1) generate a virtual map display of a geographic areaincluding indications of merchant locations that accept vehiclepayments, wherein the merchant locations are preferred locations for auser as indicated by user preferences; (2) determine, via a fuel levelsensor, that an amount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicle is lessthan a threshold amount of gasoline; and/or (3) select one of themerchant locations included in the virtual map display which providesgasoline and accepts virtual payments. The computer system may befurther configured to: (4) generate and provide navigation directionsfor the autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected merchantlocation; upon arriving at the selected merchant location, (5) transmit,to a merchant communication terminal at the merchant location, a requestto purchase gasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; (6)upon detecting, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full, transmit a request to stop fueling thevehicle; and/or (7) receive an electronic receipt for the gasolinepumped into the autonomous vehicle by the merchant communicationterminal to facilitate commercial transactions using vehicle payments.The computer system may include additional, fewer, or alternatecomponents and/or functionality, including that may be discussedelsewhere herein.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may beprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may store a set ofinstructions, that when executed on one or more processors in or on anautonomous vehicle, may cause the one or more processors to: (1)generate a virtual map display of a geographic area includingindications of merchant locations that accept vehicle payments, whereinthe merchant locations are preferred locations for a user as indicatedby user preferences; (2) determine, via a fuel level sensor, that anamount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicle is less than a thresholdamount of gasoline; and/or (3) select one of the merchant locationsincluded in the virtual map display which provides gasoline and acceptsvirtual payments. The set of instructions may further cause the one ormore processors to: (4) generate and provide navigation directions forthe autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected merchant location;upon arriving at the selected merchant location, (5) transmit, to amerchant communication terminal at the merchant location, a request topurchase gasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; (6)upon detecting, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full, transmit a request to stop fueling thevehicle; and/or (7) receive an electronic receipt for the gasolinepumped into the autonomous vehicle by the merchant communicationterminal to facilitate commercial transactions using vehicle payments.The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include additional,fewer, or alternate components and/or functionality, including thatdiscussed elsewhere herein.

Advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following description of the preferred embodiments which have beenshown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, thepresent embodiments may be capable of other and different embodiments,and their details are capable of modification in various respects.Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures described below depict various aspects of the system andmethods disclosed therein. It should be understood that each figuredepicts an embodiment of a particular aspect of the disclosed system andmethods, and that each of the figures is intended to accord with apossible embodiment thereof. Further, wherever possible, the followingdescription refers to the reference numerals included in the followingfigures, in which features depicted in multiple figures are designatedwith consistent reference numerals.

There are shown in the drawings arrangements which are presentlydiscussed, it being understood, however, that the present embodimentsare not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown,wherein.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary environment on whichan exemplary vehicle payment system may operate in accordance with anexemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary vehicle head unit inaccordance with an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates a block diagram of exemplary electronic circuitryattached to the exterior of the vehicle in accordance with an exemplaryaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A depicts an exemplary financial card entry screen of a vehiclepayment application in accordance with an exemplary aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3B depicts an exemplary activation screen of a vehicle paymentapplication in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3C depicts an exemplary financial card selection screen of avehicle payment application in accordance with an exemplary aspect ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 3D depicts an exemplary payment authorization screen of a vehiclepayment application in accordance with an exemplary aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3E depicts an exemplary electronic receipt screen of a vehiclepayment application in accordance with an exemplary aspect of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram representing an exemplary method forimplementing the vehicle payment system in accordance with an exemplaryaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 depicts a connected vehicle configured for use as a paymentdevice in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram representing an exemplary method for usinga connected (or smart) vehicle as an electronic payment device inaccordance with an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram representing another exemplary method forusing a connected (or smart) vehicle as an electronic payment device inaccordance with an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 depicts a flow diagram representing yet another exemplary methodfor using a connected (or smart) vehicle as an electronic payment devicein accordance with an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 depicts a flow diagram representing an exemplary method ofre-fueling an autonomous vehicle and locating merchants that acceptvehicle payments in accordance with an exemplary aspect of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 10 depicts a flow diagram representing an exemplary method ofreceiving goods or services via an autonomous vehicle and locatingmerchants that accept vehicle payments in accordance with an exemplaryaspect of the present disclosure.

The figures depict preferred embodiments for purposes of illustrationonly. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the followingdiscussion that alternative embodiments of the systems and methodsillustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principlesof the invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

To utilize a vehicle as a payment device, a vehicle payment applicationmay be included in a vehicle head unit. The vehicle payment applicationmay store one or more financial cards or any other financial accounts(also referred to herein as a “virtual account”) of a user, which may beretrieved for making payments from the vehicle. The financial cards orfinancial accounts may be received at the vehicle payment applicationby, for example, scanning an image of the financial card at the vehiclehead unit, entering data for the financial card or financial account(also referred to herein as “virtual account information”) such as acardholder name, card issuer, card number, card expiration date, etc.,and/or transferring data for the financial card or financial accountfrom a mobile device such as a smart-phone, wearable device, laptopcomputer, tablet, etc.

In some embodiments, the vehicle payment application may generate atoken representing the financial data for the financial card (alsoreferred to herein as a “tokenized card number”) and/or may store thetoken rather than the financial data to reduce the risk of a securitybreach. The financial data may include a cardholder name, a card number,a card expiration date, a card security code (CSC), and/or a card type(e.g., VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®, etc.). In someembodiments, the financial data may also include additional informationassociated with the financial card such as a billing address.

Also in some embodiments, the financial data may be transmitted to athird-party token server which may generate and/or transmit the token tothe vehicle head unit. The third-party token server may store the tokenwith the corresponding financial data for the financial card. When thepayment is processed, the issuing bank may communicate with thethird-party token server to retrieve the financial data corresponding tothe token, for example. In yet other embodiments, the third-party tokenserver may be the issuing bank.

In any event, when a user wants to make a purchase from the vehicle, theuser may select a user control requesting to make a payment from thevehicle. The vehicle payment application may then authenticate the userto ensure that the user is authorized to make payments with the storedfinancial cards or financial accounts. For example, the user may beauthenticated by receiving biometric information from the user such as afingerprint, an image of the user's face or eyes, etc., and comparingthe biometric information to stored biometric information for authorizedusers. In other embodiments, the user may be authenticated by entering ausername and/or password. In any event, when the user is authenticated,the user may select an indication of one of the stored financial cardsat the vehicle head unit via the vehicle payment application. Anindication of a financial card may be an image representing thefinancial card including the shape of the financial card, the backgroundcolor/image of the financial card, the name of the issuer of thefinancial card (also referred to herein as an “issuing bank”), the cardtype, and/or masked financial data.

A token representing financial data for the selected financial card maythen be transmitted to a POS terminal at the establishment where theuser is making the purchase. For example, the token may be transmittedto the POS terminal via a short-range communication link, such asBluetooth, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Dedicated Short-RangeCommunications (DSRC), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), etc. Insome embodiments, the vehicle payment system may include electroniccircuitry (also referred to herein as an “electronic device”)proximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle, such as a doorpanel, fuel cap, etc. In such embodiments, the vehicle head unit maycommunicate with the electronic circuitry via a first short-rangecommunication link such as Bluetooth, for example. The electroniccircuitry may in turn communicate with the POS terminal, via a secondvery short-range communication link such as Near Field Communication(NFC), high frequency (HF) RFID, etc.

A short-range communication link may be a communication link betweendevices where data is transmitted via a wired and/or wireless connectionwithin a first threshold distance (e.g. 30 feet, 50 feet, 100 feet, 200feet, etc.). For example, a short-range communication link may includeBluetooth, DSRC, RFID, Wi-Fi, USB, etc. A very short-range communicationlink may be a communication link between devices where data istransmitted via a wired and/or wireless connection within a secondthreshold distance which is less than the first threshold distance(e.g., one inch, three inches, six inches, a foot, three feet, etc.).For example, a very short-range communication link may include NFC, HFRFID, etc. In some scenarios, very short-range communication links mayalso be short-range communication links.

For example, the vehicle head unit and the electronic circuitry may bepaired together via a Bluetooth pairing. When the user requests to makea payment from the vehicle and selects a stored financial card orfinancial account, the vehicle head unit may transmit an indication tothe electronic circuitry to transmit the token representing thefinancial data for the selected financial card. In turn, the electroniccircuitry may transmit the token over the second very short-rangecommunication link to the POS terminal.

The electronic circuitry proximately attached to the exterior of thevehicle may be in very close proximity to the POS terminal (e.g. withinone inch, three inches, six inches, a foot, three feet, etc.). Byutilizing the electronic circuitry as an intermediary between thevehicle head unit and the POS terminal, the present embodimentsadvantageously allow for secure transmission of the token representingfinancial data. For example, by transmitting the token between deviceswhich are within a few inches or feet of each other via a veryshort-range communication link, it becomes very difficult foreavesdroppers to intercept the signal. In this manner, the transmissionmay be secure while allowing the user to add and/or select financialcards, authorize payments, and/or view electronic receipts on thedisplay of the vehicle head unit.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the token may be transmitted from thevehicle head unit to the electronic circuitry once, when a new financialcard or financial account is added. Subsequently, when the userauthorizes payment for a selected financial card or financial account,an indication of the financial card or financial account may betransmitted to the electronic circuitry, which may in turn retrieveand/or transmit the token to the POS terminal. Accordingly, the presentembodiments create additional security for the transmission of a tokenrepresenting financial data, because the token is only transmitted fromthe vehicle head unit to the electronic circuitry once. After theinitial transmission, all subsequent transmissions may be over veryshort distances, as mentioned above, making it difficult foreavesdroppers to intercept the signal.

In addition to transmitting payments from a vehicle in a secure manner,the present embodiments advantageously allow for further automation ofthe retail process. For example, as described in more detail below, avehicle at a fuel station may automatically transmit payment, open afuel cap for receiving the fuel and interact with a smart fuel pumphaving a robotic arm to maneuver the nozzle and fill the vehicle withfuel. In this manner, autonomous vehicles may travel to the fuelstation, receive fuel and make a payment without any human intervention.

Generally speaking, the techniques for utilizing a vehicle as a paymentdevice may be implemented in one or more network servers, in one or moreclient devices, in a vehicle head unit, in electronic circuitry attachedto the exterior of the vehicle, or a system that includes several ofthese devices. However, for clarity, the examples below focus primarilyon an embodiment in which financial data for a financial card isreceived at a vehicle head unit. The vehicle head unit may transmit thefinancial data to a third-party token server which may generate and/ortransmit a token representing the financial data to the vehicle headunit. When a user selects the financial card for making a payment, thevehicle head unit may transmit the token representing financial data forthe selected financial card to electronic circuitry attached to theexterior of the vehicle. The electronic circuitry may then transmit thetoken to the POS terminal for processing the payment. In otherembodiments, the vehicle head unit may communicate directly with the POSterminal.

I. Exemplary Environment for Vehicle Payment Device

FIG. 1 illustrates various aspects of an exemplary environmentimplementing a vehicle payment system 100. The environment 100 mayinclude a vehicle head unit 14 within a vehicle 12, a portable device 10within the vehicle 12, electronic circuitry 50 proximately attached tothe exterior of the vehicle, a third-party token server 104, and/or aPOS terminal 20 which may be communicatively connected through one ormore short-range and/or very short-range communication links 120, 122and/or a network 130, as described below.

The vehicle 12 may be operated by a human, such as a user or may be anautonomous and/or semi-autonomous vehicle. An autonomous vehicle may bea vehicle including one or more automated operation features capable ofoperating the vehicle in the absence of or without operating input froma vehicle operator. A semi-autonomous vehicle may be a vehicle with oneor more automated operation features capable of operating the vehiclewithout operating input from a vehicle operator and one or more manualoperation features that require operating input from a vehicle operator.

According to some embodiments, the vehicle head unit 14 may be acombination of hardware and software components, also as described inmore detail below. The vehicle head unit 14 may include a display 18 forpresenting application data. The display 18 in some implementations maybe a touchscreen and may include a software keyboard for entering textinput, such as financial data for a financial card, a financial cardselection, etc. Hardware input controls 22 on the vehicle head unit 14may be used for entering alphanumeric characters or to perform otherfunctions. The vehicle head unit 14 also may include audio input andoutput components such as a microphone and speakers, for example.

Furthermore, the vehicle head unit 14 may communicate with a portabledevice 10 within the vehicle via a communication link, which may bewired (e.g., wired Universal Serial Bus (USB)) or wireless (e.g.,Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, wireless USB). For example, the portable device10 may store indications of financial cards, tokens, and/or financialdata which may be transmitted to the vehicle head unit 14 when a useradds a new financial card to the vehicle payment application. Theportable device 10 may be a tablet computer, a cell phone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a smart-phone, a laptop computer, a portablemedia player (not shown), a pager, a wearable computing device, smartglasses, smart watches or bracelets, phablets, other smart devices,devices configured for wired or wireless RF (Radio Frequency)communication, etc.

Moreover, the vehicle head unit 14 may include one or more processor(s)such as a microprocessor coupled to a memory. The memory may betangible, non-transitory memory and may include any types of suitablememory modules, including random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), flash memory, other types of persistent memory, etc. The memorymay store, for example instructions executable on the processors for avehicle payment application. The vehicle head unit 14 is described inmore detail below with reference to FIG. 2A.

A. Exemplary Vehicle Payment Application

To utilize a vehicle as a payment device, the vehicle paymentapplication may receive and/or store indications of one or morefinancial cards or financial accounts, a token representing financialdata for each financial card, and/or biometric or login information forauthorized users to verify that the user is authorized to make paymentswith the stored financial cards. The vehicle payment application maypresent indications of each of the stored financial cards on the display18 of the vehicle head unit 14 and one or more user controls forallowing the user to select one of the financial cards. Upon receiving aselection of one of the financial cards and a request to make payment,the vehicle payment application may transmit the token representingfinancial data for the selected financial data via a short-rangecommunication link 120 (or radio frequency link) to the POS terminal 20.In some embodiments, the vehicle payment application may transmit thetoken via a first short-range communication link 120 to the electroniccircuitry 50 proximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle. Theelectronic circuitry 50 may then transmit the token via a second veryshort-range communication link 122 to the POS terminal 20. In any event,the POS terminal 20 may transmit an electronic receipt to the vehiclehead unit 14, and the vehicle payment application may present theelectronic receipt on the display 18.

B. Exemplary Electronic Circuitry

The electronic circuitry 50 proximately attached to the exterior of thevehicle may be a combination of hardware and software components, alsoas described in more detail below. The electronic circuitry 50 mayinclude a wireless transceiver for transmitting/receiving radio signalsusing NFC, Bluetooth, USB, DSRC, RFID, Wi-Fi, etc. The electroniccircuitry 50 may communicate with the vehicle head unit 14 via a firstshort-range communication link 120. The electronic circuitry 50 may alsocommunicate with the POS terminal 20 via a second very short-rangecommunication link 122. In some embodiments, the electronic circuitry 50may include one or more processor(s) such as a microprocessor coupled toa memory.

Moreover, the electronic circuitry 50 may store tokens representingfinancial data for each financial card. For example, the electroniccircuitry 50 may be paired with the vehicle head unit 14 via a Bluetoothconnection. When the user enters a new financial card on the vehiclehead unit, the generated token representing financial data for thefinancial card may be transmitted and/or stored in the electroniccircuitry 50. When the user later selects the financial card for makinga payment, the vehicle head unit 14 may transmit an indication of thefinancial card to the electronic circuitry 50 and the electric circuitry50 may retrieve the corresponding token and/or transmit thecorresponding token to the POS terminal. In other embodiments, thevehicle head unit 14 may transmit the token to the electronic circuitry50 each time the electronic circuitry 50 is called upon in the paymentprocess. The electronic circuitry 50 is described in more detail belowwith reference to FIG. 2B.

C. Exemplary POS Terminal

The POS terminal 20 may be a combination of hardware and softwarecomponents and may include a display, a camera, and/or one or moreprocessor(s) such as a microprocessor coupled to a memory. The POSterminal 20 may also include a wired and/or wireless transceiver fortransmitting/receiving radio signals using NFC, Bluetooth, DSRC, RFID,USB, Wi-Fi, etc. The POS terminal 20 may communicate with the vehiclehead unit 14 and/or the electronic circuitry via a short-range and/orvery short-range communication link. Additionally, the POS terminal 20may communicate with other devices via a wired and/or wirelesslong-range communication network 130 such as a proprietary network, asecure public Internet, a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, and/orsome other type of network, such as dedicated access lines, plainordinary telephone lines, satellite links, combinations of these, etc.

Where the digital network 130 comprises the Internet, data communicationmay take place over the digital network 130 via an Internetcommunication protocol. For example, upon receiving a token and/orfinancial data for a financial card the POS terminal 20 may transmit thereceived data to an acquiring bank server which may in turn transmit thereceived data to an issuing bank server for the financial card. Theissuing bank server may then transmit an indication back to the POSterminal 20 that the payment has been accepted. For example, the issuingbank server may communicate with the third party token server 104 toretrieve the financial data corresponding to the token and generate acharge for the corresponding financial card. Alternatively, the issuingbank server may obtain the financial card corresponding to the tokenand/or financial data in any other suitable manner. In other scenarios,when the received data cannot be verified at the issuing bank server orthe corresponding financial card does not have a sufficient balanceand/or sufficient credit to make the payment, the issuing bank servermay transmit an indication to the POS terminal 20 that the payment hasbeen declined.

While the POS terminal 20 is depicted in FIG. 1 as attached to a fuelstation, this is merely one example embodiment. The POS terminal 20 maybe a stand-alone device, may be attached to a drive-thru window at adrive-thru and/or car wash, and/or may be presented in any othersuitable manner.

D. Exemplary Token Server

According to embodiments, the third-party token server 104 may be acombination of hardware and software components, also as described inmore detail below. The third-party token server 104 may have anassociated database for storing tokens, the financial data representedby the tokens, and/or the financial cards corresponding to the financialdata. Moreover, the third-party token server 104 may include one or moreprocessor(s) such as a microprocessor coupled to a memory.

The memory may be tangible, non-transitory memory and may include anytypes of suitable memory modules, including random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, other types of persistent memory,etc. The memory may store, for example instructions executable on theprocessors for generating/transmitting tokens and/or storing the tokenswith associated financial data/financial cards.

It will be appreciated that although only one third-party token server104 is depicted in FIG. 1, multiple third-party token servers 104 may beprovided for the purpose of distributing server load, serving differentweb pages, etc. These multiple third-party token servers 104 may includea web server, an entity-specific server (e.g. an Apple® server, etc.), aserver that is disposed in a retail or proprietary network, etc.

The third-party token server 104 may communicate with the vehicle headunit 14 via the network 130. For example, the vehicle head unit 14 maytransmit financial data for a financial card to the third-party tokenserver 104 and in turn, the third-party token server maygenerate/transmit a token representing the financial data to the vehiclehead unit 14. The vehicle payment application in the vehicle head unit14 may then store the token with an indication of the financial cardand/or transmit the token when making a payment with the correspondingfinancial card.

II. Exemplary System Hardware

A. Exemplary Vehicle Head Unit

Turning now to FIG. 2A, the vehicle head unit 14, may include a display236 similar to the display 18 as shown in FIG. 1, a communication unit238, a user-input device (not shown), a camera and/or other image sensor(not shown), and/or a controller 224. The controller 224 may include aprogram memory 226, a microcontroller or a microprocessor (MP) 228, arandom-access memory (RAM) 230, and/or an input/output (I/O) circuit234, all of which may be interconnected via an address/data bus 232. Theprogram memory 226 and the microprocessor 228 may be similar to thememory and processor respectively, as described in FIG. 1.

The program memory 226 may include an operating system 260, a datastorage 262, a plurality of software applications 264, and/or aplurality of software routines 268. The operating system 260, forexample, may include iOS®, Android™, Palm® webOS, Windows Mobile/Phone,BlackBerry® OS, Symbian® OS, Microsoft Windows®, OS X®, Linux®, Unix®,etc. The data storage 262 may include data such as user profiles,indications of financial cards, tokens, application data for theplurality of applications 264, routine data for the plurality ofroutines 268, and/or other data necessary to interact with thethird-party token server 104, electronic circuitry 50, and/or POSterminal 20 through the digital network 130, and/or short-range/veryshort-range communication links 120, 122. In some embodiments, thecontroller 224 may also include, or otherwise be communicativelyconnected to, other data storage mechanisms (e.g., one or more hard diskdrives, optical storage drives, solid state storage devices, etc.) thatreside within the vehicle head unit 14.

The communication unit 238 may include one or more transceivers, and/orcommunicate with the third-party token server 104 via any suitablewireless communication protocol network, such as a wireless telephonynetwork (e.g., GSM, CDMA, LTE, etc.), a Wi-Fi network (802.11standards), a WiMAX network, etc. Additionally, the communication unit238 may communicate with the electronic circuitry 50 and/or POS terminalvia any suitable short-range/very short-range wired or wirelesscommunication protocol network, such as USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC,RFID, DSRC, etc. The user-input device (not shown) may include a “soft”keyboard that is displayed on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit14, an external hardware keyboard such as the hardware input controls 22as shown in FIG. 1, or any other suitable user-input device.

It should be appreciated that although FIG. 2A depicts only onemicroprocessor 228, the controller 224 may include multiplemicroprocessors 228. Similarly, the memory of the controller 224 mayinclude multiple RAMs 230 and/or multiple program memories 226. AlthoughFIG. 2A depicts the I/O circuit 234 as a single block, the I/O circuit234 may include a number of different types of I/O circuits. Thecontroller 224 may implement the RAM(s) 230 and/or the program memories226 as semiconductor memories, magnetically readable memories, and/oroptically readable memories, for example.

The one or more processors 228 may be adapted and configured to executeany one or more of the plurality of software applications 264 and/or anyone or more of the plurality of software routines 268 residing in theprogram memory 226, in addition to other software applications. One ofthe plurality of applications 264 may be a vehicle payment application266 that may be implemented as a series of machine-readable instructionsfor performing the various tasks associated with receiving informationat, displaying information on, and/or transmitting information from thevehicle head unit 14.

One of the plurality of applications 264 may be a native applicationand/or web browser 270, such as Apple's Safari®, Google Chrome™,Microsoft Internet Explorer®, and Mozilla Firefox® that may beimplemented as a series of machine-readable instructions for receiving,interpreting, and/or displaying web page information while alsoreceiving inputs from the user. Another application of the plurality ofapplications may include an embedded web browser 276 that may beimplemented as a series of machine-readable instructions for receiving,interpreting, and/or displaying web page information. One of theplurality of routines may include a financial card storage routine 272which obtains financial data for a financial card from the user and/or aportable device, transmits the financial data to a third-party tokenserver 104 and stores a received token with an indication of thefinancial data at the vehicle payment application 266. Another routinein the plurality of routines may include a payment routine 274 thatreceives a selection of a stored financial card and transmits a tokenrepresenting financial data for the financial card to the POS terminal20 for making a payment.

Preferably, a user may launch the vehicle payment application 266 fromthe vehicle head unit 14 to communicate with the third-party tokenserver 104, the electronic circuitry 50 and/or the POS terminal 20 toimplement the vehicle payment system 100. Additionally, the user mayalso launch or instantiate any other suitable user interface application(e.g., the native application or web browser 270, or any other one ofthe plurality of software applications 264) to access the third-partytoken server 104, the electronic circuitry 50 and/or the POS terminal 20to realize the vehicle payment system 100.

In one embodiment, to interact with the vehicle payment system 100, theuser may execute the vehicle payment application 266 on the vehicle headunit 14. Using the vehicle payment application 266, the user may makepayments by navigating a series of vehicle payment application screens.FIGS. 3A-E depict vehicle payment application pages and/or screens thatmay be displayed on the vehicle head unit 14 in various embodiments ofthe vehicle payment system 100. However, the screens depicted in FIGS.3A-E are merely illustrations of an exemplary embodiment. In someembodiments, the vehicle head unit 14 may display web pages. While thevehicle payment application 266 may retrieve application data such asindications of financial cards, tokens, user profiles, etc. from thedata storage 262 as described above, the application data may also bestored in one or more server devices (not shown). In some embodiments,the vehicle payment application 266 may communicate with the one or moreserver devices to transmit/receive server data and/or to implement thevehicle payment system 100.

In any event, the user may launch the vehicle payment application 266from the vehicle head unit 14 via any suitable manner, such astouch-selecting a vehicle payment application icon (not shown) on thedisplay 236 of the vehicle head unit 14 and/or using one of the hardwareinput controls 22. After the user launches the vehicle paymentapplication 266, a payment activation screen of the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may be displayed to the user on the vehicle head unit.

B. Exemplary Electronic Circuitry

Referring now to FIG. 2B, the electronic circuitry 50 (also referred toherein as an “electronic device”) may include an NFC module 240 and acommunication unit 258. The electronic circuitry 50 may be proximatelyattached to the exterior of the vehicle 12. Locations on the interior ofthe vehicle 12 which are within several inches or a foot from theexterior of the vehicle 12 may be proximate to the exterior of thevehicle 12. For example, the electronic circuitry 50 may be attached toa door panel or fuel cap of the vehicle 12 on the exterior of thevehicle 12. In another example, the electronic circuitry 50 may beattached to a fuel cap from the interior of the vehicle 12 and proximateto the exterior of the vehicle 12. In this manner, the electroniccircuitry 50 may be placed in very close proximity of a POS terminal 20(e.g., within one inch, three inches, six inches, a foot, three feet,etc.) to securely transmit financial data or a token representing thefinancial data.

In some embodiments, like the vehicle head unit 14, the electroniccircuitry 50 may also include a controller 242. Similar to thecontroller 224, the controller 242 may include a program memory 246, amicrocontroller or a microprocessor (MP) 248, a random-access memory(RAM) 250, and/or an input/output (I/O) circuit 254, all of which may beinterconnected via an address/data bus 252. The program memory 246 mayinclude a data storage and/or a plurality of software routines. The datastorage may include data such as indications of financial cards, tokens,etc. In some embodiments, the controller 242 may also include, orotherwise be communicatively connected to, other data storage mechanisms(e.g., one or more hard disk drives, optical storage drives, solid statestorage devices, etc.) that reside within the electronic circuitry 50.

The communication unit 258 may include one or more transceivers, and/orcommunicate with the vehicle head unit 14 and/or the POS terminal 20 viaany suitable short-range/very short-range wired or wirelesscommunication protocol network, such as USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC,RFID, DSRC, etc. For example, using the NFC module 240, thecommunication unit 258 may communicate with the POS terminal using NFC.

As discussed with reference to the controller 224, it should beappreciated that although FIG. 2B depicts only one microprocessor 248,the controller 242 may include multiple microprocessors 248. Similarly,the memory of the controller 242 may include multiple RAMs 250 and/ormultiple program memories 246. Although the FIG. 2B depicts the I/Ocircuit 254 as a single block, the I/O circuit 254 may include a numberof different types of I/O circuits. The controller 242 may implement theRAM(s) 250 and/or the program memories 246 as semiconductor memories,magnetically readable memories, and/or optically readable memories, forexample.

The one or more processors 248 may be adapted and configured to executeany one or more of a plurality of software routines residing in theprogram memory 246. One of the plurality of routines may include adevice recognition routine which identifies devices within range forcommunication, such as a POS terminal 20 which may communicate with theelectronic circuitry 50. Another routine in the plurality of routinesmay include a token transmission routine which retrieves a token fromdata storage in response to receiving an indication of a selectedfinancial card from the vehicle head unit 14. The token may also beretrieved from the vehicle head unit 14. The token transmission routinemay then transmit the obtained token corresponding to the financial cardto a POS terminal.

III. Exemplary Screenshots of a Vehicle Payment Application

In the present aspects, the following screenshots shown in FIGS. 3A-Eare examples of what may be displayed to a user as part of a vehiclepayment application 266. In the present aspects, the following exemplaryscreenshots shown in FIGS. 3A-E may be displayed on the vehicle headunit 14 as shown in FIG. 1. As will be appreciated by those of ordinaryskill in the relevant art(s), the exemplary screenshots shown in FIGS.3A-E are for illustrative purposes, and their associated functionalitymay be implemented using any suitable format and/or design forfacilitating their corresponding described functionalities withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Moreover, the following exemplary screenshots shown in FIGS. 3A-E may bepresented on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14 when thevehicle is operated by a user. When the vehicle 12 is an autonomousvehicle, the autonomous vehicle may receive and/or interact with theinformation presented by the vehicle payment application 266 withoutpresenting all of the exemplary screenshots. For example, the autonomousvehicle may receive indications of stored financial cards and/or selectone of the stored financial cards for making a payment without theindications being presented on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit14. In other embodiments, the exemplary screenshots may be presented onthe vehicle head unit 14 of the autonomous vehicle to allow users withinthe autonomous vehicle to interact with the vehicle payment application266.

A. Exemplary Financial Card Entry Screen

To add a new financial card or financial account (also referred toherein as a “virtual account”) to the vehicle payment application 266, auser may select a user control such as an “Add Credit/Debit Card” buttonon a home screen (not shown) and/or a financial card selection screen ofthe vehicle payment application 266. With reference now to FIG. 3A, afinancial card entry screen 300 may be displayed on the vehicle headunit 14 when the user selects the “Add Credit/Debit Card” button on thehome screen, financial card selection screen, and/or any other suitablescreen of the vehicle payment application 266.

The financial card entry screen 300 may include a user control 304 forreceiving an image of the financial card at the vehicle head unit 14.For example, the vehicle payment application 266 may instruct the camerawithin the vehicle head unit 14 to capture an image of the user'sfinancial card. The financial card entry screen 300 may include aninstruction to position the financial card within a frame 302, where theframe is included in the user control 304. When a user positions theboundaries of a financial card within the frame of the user control 304,the camera of the vehicle head unit 14 may automatically capture animage of the financial card. In other embodiments, the user may select auser control instructing the capture to capture an image of thefinancial card when the boundaries of the financial card are positionedwithin the frame. The camera may capture one and/or both sides of thefinancial card.

Additionally, the financial card entry screen 300 may include usercontrols 306-312 for manually entering financial data for the financialcard, such as a credit/debit card number 306, a cardholder name 308, anexpiration date 310, a card type 312 (e.g., VISA®, MasterCard®, AmericanExpress®, Discover®, etc.), a CSC code, and/or any other suitableinformation such as a billing address, a card nickname, etc.

When an image of the financial card and/or the financial data for thefinancial card is provided at the financial card entry screen 300, theuser may select a “Submit” button 314 to store an indication of thefinancial card at the vehicle payment application 266. The vehiclepayment application 266 may use various image processing techniques,such as optical character recognition (OCR) to identify the financialdata included in the image of the financial card. Additionally, theindication of the financial card may be an edited version of the imageof the financial card. At least some of the financial data, such as thecardholder name, card number, expiration date and/or CSC code, may beremoved and/or masked using various image processing techniques.Accordingly, the edited version of the image of the financial card maydisplay the shape of the financial card, the background color/image ofthe financial card, the name of the issuer of the financial card (e.g.,Chase™, Bank of America™, Wells Fargo™ Citigroup™, PNC™, Capital One™,etc.), the card type (e.g., VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®,Discover®, etc.), masked financial data such as the last four digits ofthe financial card, etc. When an image of the financial card is notcaptured and the user manually enters the financial data for thefinancial card instead, the vehicle payment application 266 may createan image of the financial card based upon the entered card type. Forexample, if the card type is American Express®, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may generate an image of a financial card having a greenbackground color, and/or the name “American Express.”

In some embodiments, when the “Submit” button 314 is selected, thevehicle payment application 266 may transmit the financial dataretrieved from the image of the financial card 304 or manually enteredvia the user controls 306-310, to a third-party token server 104 asshown in FIG. 1. The third-party token server 104 may then generate atoken which may be a string of randomly generated alphanumeric ornumeric characters that represents the financial data. For example, thetoken may be a 16 digit alphanumeric character string. The third-partytoken server 104 may store the token with the financial data that thetoken represents and/or may transmit the token to the vehicle paymentapplication 266 for additional storage. In some embodiments, thethird-party token server 104 may provide the financial data to theissuing bank for the financial card after receiving the token from theissuing bank when a payment is processed. In other embodiments, thethird-party token server 104 may be the issuing bank. The tokenizationprocess may be completed in any number of ways including but not limitedto the system and method for secure acceptance of customer credit cardnumbers as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/505,599,which is incorporated by reference herein.

In any event, the vehicle payment application 266 may then store theindication of the financial card so that the user may select thefinancial card for making a payment at a financial card selectionscreen, for example. In some embodiments, the token representingfinancial data for the financial card may be stored with the indicationof the financial card. The token may be transmitted when the userselects the financial card for making the payment. In other embodiments,the vehicle payment application 266 may transmit the token to theelectronic circuitry 50 as shown in FIG. 1, and/or the electroniccircuitry 50 may store the token. In such embodiments, when a userselects a financial card, the vehicle payment application 266 maytransmit an indication to the electronic circuitry 50 that the financialcard has been selected, and the electronic circuitry may retrieve and/ortransmit the token corresponding to the selected financial card.

In addition to capturing an image of the financial card and/or manuallyentering financial data for the financial card at the financial cardentry screen 300, the financial card entry screen 300 may include a usercontrol (not shown) to import the financial card from anotherapplication such as a photo library, email application, etc., and/or anexternal source such as a portable device 10 in communication with thevehicle head unit 14. In this manner, the user may import indications offinancial cards and/or financial data for the financial card fromanother application and/or from the portable device 10 to the vehiclepayment application 266.

B. Exemplary Activation Screen

When the vehicle detects a POS terminal 20, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may display a payment activation screen 320 as depictedin FIG. 3B. For example, the vehicle head unit 14 and/or electroniccircuitry 50 proximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle maydetect the presence of a Bluetooth signal, RFID signal, NFC signal, DSRCsignal, Wi-Fi signal, etc. In another example, the vehicle head unit 14and/or electronic circuitry 50 proximately attached to the exterior ofthe vehicle may determine that the vehicle is within a predetermineddistance of a POS terminal 20. More specifically, the vehicle head unit14 may obtain locations of merchants (e.g., fuel stations, dry cleaners,fast food or other restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores,pharmacies, vehicle repair shops, etc.) within a geographic areasurrounding the current location of the vehicle head unit 14. Thevehicle head unit 14 and/or electronic circuitry 50 proximately attachedto the exterior of the vehicle may determine that the vehicle is withina predetermined distance of a POS terminal 20 associated with one of themerchants, when the current location of the vehicle is within thepredetermined distance (e.g., 50 feet, 100 feet, 200 feet, etc.) of oneof the merchants.

In yet another example, a camera located within the vehicle head unit 14or other portion of the vehicle may capture images of an areasurrounding the vehicle. The images may be visible light images, radarimages, infrared images, or any other suitable image within theelectromagnetic spectrum including the visible and invisible lightspectrums. The vehicle head unit 14 may then analyze these images usingvarious digital image processing techniques (such as object recognition,optical character recognition etc.), to identify merchants as well astheir respective locations relative to the location of the vehicle. Whena merchant is identified that is within a predetermined distance of thevehicle, the vehicle may detect a POS terminal 20.

In some embodiments, the vehicle head unit 14 and/or electroniccircuitry 50 may also identify the device transmitting a signal and/or aname of a corresponding network. When the device transmitting the signaland/or the name of the corresponding network is associated with a POSterminal 20, the vehicle payment application 266 may detect a POSterminal 20. In other embodiments, the vehicle payment application 266may detect a POS terminal 20 upon detecting the presence of one of thesignals mentioned above. Additionally, the vehicle head unit 14 mayobtain a list of POS terminals which accepts payments from a vehicleand/or any other type of mobile payments. For example, the vehicle headunit 14 may communicate with a third party server, such as a Departmentof Motor Vehicles (DMV) server to obtain the list. The detected POSterminal 20 may be compared to the list of POS terminals to determinewhether the detected POS terminal 20 accepts vehicle payments.Furthermore, the user may provide a list of preferred merchants and/ormerchant locations. The merchant and/or merchant location associatedwith the detected POS terminal 20 may be compared to the list ofpreferred merchants to determine whether the user authorizes vehiclepayments at the detected POS terminal 20. If the user does not authorizevehicle payments or the detected POS terminal 20 does not accept vehiclepayments, the user may manually purchase goods or services provided bythe merchant or may navigate to another merchant location.

In any event, upon detecting the POS terminal 20, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may automatically activate and/or display the paymentactivation screen 320. In other embodiments, the user may activate thevehicle payment application 266 by touch-selecting a vehicle paymentapplication icon on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14, asdescribed above. In yet other embodiments, the POS terminal 20 mayidentify a vehicle. For example, the POS terminal 20 may detect thepresence of a Bluetooth signal, RFID signal, NFC signal, DSRC signal,Wi-Fi signal, etc. In another example, the POS terminal may capture,with a camera communicatively coupled to the POS terminal 20, images ofan area surrounding the POS terminal 20. The POS terminal 20 may thenanalyze these images using various digital image processing techniques(such as object recognition, optical character recognition etc.), toidentify a vehicle and/or a vehicle license plate number. In yet anotherexample, the POS terminal 20 may receive an indication from the vehiclehead unit 14 and/or electronic circuitry 50 that the vehicle 12 iswithin a predetermined range of the POS terminal 20. As a result, thePOS terminal 20 may transmit the payment activation screen 320 to thevehicle head unit 14 and/or electronic circuitry 50. In addition todisplaying the payment activation screen 320, the POS terminal 20, thevehicle head unit 14, and/or the electronic circuitry 50 may establish acommunication link between the POS terminal 20 and the vehicle head unit14 and/or the electronic circuitry 50. The communication link may be ashort-range communication link (e.g., Bluetooth, DSRC, RFID, Wi-Fi, USB,etc.), a very short-range communication link (e.g., NFC, HF RFID, etc.)or any suitable combination.

In any event, the payment activation screen 320 may include a prompt 322asking the user whether she would like to pay from her vehicle, a “YES”button 324, and/or a “NO” button 326. If the user selects the “YES”button 324 by for example, touch-selecting the display 236 of thevehicle head unit 14 or using one of the hardware input controls, thevehicle payment application 266 may present a financial card selectionscreen on the vehicle head unit 14 for selecting one of the storedfinancial cards, as described in more detail below. On the other hand,if the user selects the “NO” button 326, the vehicle payment application266 may automatically close.

In some embodiments, before presenting the financial card selectionscreen, the POS terminal 20 may transmit data over a short-rangecommunication link 120 to the vehicle head unit 14, and/or over firstand second short-range/very short-range communication links 120, 122 tothe electronic circuitry 50 and then to the head unit 14. For example,when the establishment associated with the POS terminal 20 is a fuelstation, the data may include a request for the user to provide afinancial card to the POS terminal 20 before filling up with fuel, whichmay be presented on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14. Thenwhen the fueling process is over, the POS terminal 20 may transmitadditional data including the amount of fuel provided to the vehicle,the total cost of the fuel, and/or a request to authorize payment forthe total cost of the fuel using the financial card provided to the POSterminal 20. The additional data may be presented on the display 236 ofthe vehicle head unit 14.

In another example, the establishment associated with the POS terminal20 may be another type of establishment which provides goods or servicesat or nearby a user's vehicle, such as a drive-thru or a car wash. ThePOS terminal 20 may transmit data including the total cost of the goodsor services and/or a request for the user to transmit payment to the POSterminal 20. In some embodiments, the user may be prompted to providepermission for the vehicle head unit 14 and/or the electronic circuitry50 to receive the data from the POS terminal 20.

In some embodiments, the vehicle payment application 266 may store userpreferences and/or other information indicative of retailers/merchantspreferred by the user. For example, the user may provide indications ofpreferred retailers/merchants and/or services, goods, or items that theuser likes to purchase via the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14.Additionally, the vehicle payment application 266 may identify userpreferences based upon previous purchases made by the user and theestablishments and/or types of services, goods, or items that the usertypically purchases.

When the vehicle head unit 14 and/or the electronic circuitry 50 detectsthe presence of short-range/very short-range wireless signal and/oridentifies the device transmitting the signal, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may determine whether the device is associated with anestablishment (also referred to herein as a “point of interest (POI)”)and/or services, goods, or items which are preferred by the user. Whenthe device is associated with a preferred establishment/item and iswithin a threshold distance of the vehicle 12, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may present a message to the user that a preferredestablishment/item is nearby. The vehicle payment application 266 mayalso present an indication of the distance to the preferredestablishment/item and/or an indication of the preferredestablishment/item such as a name of the preferred establishment/item.Moreover, the vehicle payment application 266 may also display a map ofa geographic area including the user's current location with anindication, such as a pin which marks the location of the preferredestablishment/item. In another embodiment, the map display may includeseveral indications which mark the locations of preferredestablishments/items and/or any other merchants which accept vehiclepayments. The vehicle payment application 266 may also determine thedistance between the vehicle and each of the preferredestablishments/items and/or other merchants based upon their respectivepositions within the map display.

In some embodiments, the vehicle payment application 266 may providenavigation directions to the location of the preferredestablishment/item or a location of one of several preferredestablishments/items that is selected by a user. For example, the usermay touch-select one of the preferred establishment/items on the mapdisplay. In another example, the user may provide a type of goods orservices that the user wants to purchase. For instance, the user mayrequest a fast food restaurant. The vehicle payment application 266 maythen identify one of the preferred establishment/items included in themap display that provides the type of goods or services that the userwants to purchase.

In yet another example, when the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, thevehicle payment application 266 may identify a type of goods or servicesthat needs to be purchased, such as fuel for the vehicle. The vehiclepayment application 266 may then identify one of the preferredestablishment/items included in the map display that provides fuel. Forexample, the vehicle payment application 266 may identify the closestpreferred merchant location that provides fuel and/or any other suitablemerchant location on the map display that provides fuel.

The navigation directions may be a set of turn-by-turn navigationinstructions for traversing from the current location of the vehicle tothe location of the preferred establishment/item. In some embodiments,the vehicle payment application 266 may communicate with a third partyserver, such as a map server and/or a navigation server which mayprovide the map data and/or navigation data for displaying a map andnavigation directions. For example, the map server may provideindications of several merchant locations to the vehicle paymentapplication 266. The vehicle payment application 266 may then determinewhich of the merchant locations are within a geographic area surroundingthe user's current location. Accordingly, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may generate a map display of the geographic area andinclude the indications of merchant location within the geographic areaon the map display. The map display may be presented on display 18 ofthe vehicle head unit 14.

When the vehicle is driven by the user, the navigation directions may beprovided audibly via the speakers of the vehicle head unit 14 orvisually, where the navigation directions overlay the map display. Forexample, the vehicle payment application 266 may highlight or otherwiseannotate the roads, streets, etc. included in the turn-by-turnnavigation directions for traversing from the current location of thevehicle to the location of the preferred establishment/item. When thevehicle is an autonomous vehicle, the navigation directions may be a setof instructions provided to the autonomous vehicle for navigating to thepreferred establishment/item. The instructions may include indicationsof upcoming maneuvers such as turns, distances in which an upcomingmaneuver needs to be made (e.g., turning left in three miles), and/orany other suitable instructions for guiding the autonomous vehicle tothe preferred establishment/item.

Also in some embodiments, when the user selects the “YES” button 324indicating she would like to make a payment from her vehicle, thevehicle payment application 266 may authenticate the user to ensure sheis authorized to use the stored financial cards to make payments. Thevehicle payment application 266 may store biometric information forauthorized users, such as fingerprint data, facial data, retinal data,voice data, weight data, etc. To authenticate the user, the vehiclepayment application 266 may retrieve a biometric identifier from theuser. For example, the vehicle head unit 14 may capture an image of theuser, a microphone in the vehicle head unit 14 may capture voice datafor the user, the user may press a finger on the vehicle head unit 14for the vehicle payment application 266 to receive fingerprint data,weight or pressure sensors in the vehicle may determine the weight ofthe user, and/or a biometric identifier for the user may be obtained inany other suitable manner. The vehicle payment application 266 may thenverify the received biometric identifier by comparing the obtainedbiometric identifier to stored biometric information for authorizedusers. If the obtained biometric identifier matches the stored biometricinformation, the vehicle payment application 266 may determine the useris an authorized user and present the financial card selection screen,as described below.

In some scenarios, for example when the vehicle is an autonomousvehicle, the vehicle payment application 266 may authenticate thevehicle to ensure that the vehicle is authorized to use the storedfinancial cards to make payments. For example, a camera within thevehicle head unit 14 or another portion of the vehicle may capture animage of the license plate. Using digital image processing techniquessuch as objection recognition and/or optical character recognition, thevehicle head unit 14 may identify the license plate number for thevehicle. The license plate number may be compared to a stored licenseplate number for an authorized vehicle. If the obtained license platenumber matches the stored license plate number, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may determine the vehicle is an authorized vehicle andpresent the financial card selection screen, as described below. In someembodiments, the vehicle payment application 266 and/or the POS terminal20 may transmit the license plate number or other vehicle identificationinformation (e.g., a make/model of the vehicle, a vehicle identificationnumber (VIN), etc.) to a third party server for verifying that theautonomous vehicle has not been stolen. The third party server may thencompare the vehicle identification information to stolen vehicle recordsto ensure that the autonomous vehicle has not been stolen.

In other embodiments, the POS terminal 20 may authenticate the vehicleand/or a user within the vehicle by receiving a biometric identifierfrom the user and/or vehicle identification information. The biometricidentifier and/or vehicle identification information may be compared toa database of authorized users or vehicles, and if there is a match, thePOS terminal 20 may verify that the user and/or vehicle is authorized tomake vehicle payments. For example, when an autonomous vehicle isauthorized to make vehicle payments using a particular financial card, auser may register the autonomous vehicle as an authorized vehicle. Insome embodiments, the financial card or virtual account may also beregistered with the user and/or vehicle. Accordingly, when the userand/or vehicle transmits financial data/virtual account information forthe financial card/virtual account to the POS terminal 20, the POSterminal 20 may verify that the user and/or vehicle is authorized tomake payments with the financial card/virtual account.

The vehicle payment application 266 may also store a username and/orpassword, a PIN number, and/or any other unique identifier forauthorized users. To authenticate the user, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may receive login information, such a username andpassword, a PIN number, or identification information from anauthenticated key fob and verify the login information by comparing thelogin information to the stored unique identifier. When there is amatch, the vehicle payment application 266 may determine that the useris an authorized user. In yet other embodiments, the vehicle head unit14 may detect the presence of a portable device 10, for example from ashort-range/very short-range communication link. The portable device 10may be used to authenticate the user by transmitting a unique identifierto the vehicle head unit 14 and/or transmitting any other suitableinformation indicating that the portable device 10 belongs to anauthorized user. If the user is not authenticated, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may not display the financial card selection screenand/or may continue to receive a biometric identifier and/or logininformation for the user.

As mentioned above, when the vehicle 12 is an autonomous vehicle, thevehicle payment application 266 may not display the payment activationscreen 320. Instead, the autonomous vehicle may communicate with thevehicle payment application 266 to initiate the payment process.

C. Exemplary Financial Card Selection Screen

In response to the user selecting the “YES” button 324 on the paymentactivation screen 320 and/or authenticating the user, the vehiclepayment application 266 may present a financial card selection screen340 as depicted in FIG. 3C. The vehicle payment application 266 may alsopresent the financial card selection screen 340 in response to a requestfrom the POS terminal 20 to provide a financial card and/or transmitpayment to the POS terminal. In any event, the financial card selectionscreen 340 may include indications of financial cards 342-348 which wereadded at the financial card entry screen 300 as shown in FIG. 3A. Thefinancial card selection screen 340 may also include user controls forselecting the financial cards. For example, a user may select theDiscover® card 346 by touch-selecting the area of the display 236 whichincludes the Discover® card 346.

As mentioned above, each of the indications of financial cards 342-348may include an edited version of the image of the financial card whereat least some of the financial data, such as the cardholder name, cardnumber, and/or expiration date, is removed and/or masked. Accordingly,the edited version of the image of the financial card may display theshape of the financial card, the background color/image of the financialcard, the name of the issuer of the financial card (e.g., Chase™, Bankof America™, Wells Fargo™, Citigroup™, PNC™, Capital One™, etc.), thecard type (e.g., VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover®,etc.), masked financial data such as the last four digits of the cardnumber, etc. For example, the indication of the VISA® card 344 includesa rectangular image having Bank of America™ as the name of the issuingbank, VISA® as the card type, and a red background color. The user maytouch-select the VISA® card 344, and as a result the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may present a payment authorization screen, as describedin more detail below in FIG. 3D.

While the indications of financial cards 342-348 are displayed adjacentto each other in the financial card selection screen 340, this is merelyan exemplary embodiment. In other embodiments, the indications offinancial cards 342 may be displayed such that they are layered on topof each other where a portion of some of the indications 342-348 isoccluded. Moreover, the indications of financial cards 342-348 maydisplayed on the financial card selection screen 340 in any suitablemanner to allow the user to select one of the financial cards.Furthermore, additional and/or alternative information may be includedin the indications of financial cards, such as a nickname for thefinancial card, a billing address for the financial card, and/or anyother suitable information.

As mentioned above, when the vehicle 12 is an autonomous vehicle, thevehicle payment application 266 may not display the financial cardselection screen 340. Instead, the autonomous vehicle may communicatewith the vehicle payment application 266 to select a financial card. Forexample, the autonomous vehicle may select one of the stored financialcards based upon the credit limits for the stored financial cards, anamount of money corresponding to each of the stored financial cards, apreference for a particular financial card previously indicated by auser, or in any other suitable manner.

D. Exemplary Payment Authorization Screen

Turning now to FIG. 3D, a payment authorization screen 360 may bepresented by the vehicle payment application 266, when the user selectsa financial card for making a payment. The payment authorization screen360 may include an indication of the selected financial card 362, arequest to transmit payment 364, and/or “YES” and “NO” buttons 366, 368.In some embodiments, the payment authorization screen 360 may alsoinclude an indication of the goods or services purchased and/or a totalcost of the goods or services provided by the establishment associatedwith the POS terminal 20. When the establishment is a fuel station, thetotal cost may not be available and instead, the user may provide thefinancial card to the POS terminal 20 before receiving fuel. Then whenthe fueling process is finished, the vehicle payment application 266 maypresent an additional screen (not shown) to authorize payment for thetotal cost of the fuel. The additional screen may display the totalcost.

In some embodiments, the POS terminal 20 may also transmit links toloyalty reward programs, which may be presented on the paymentauthorization screen 360. In this manner, the user may receive loyaltyreward points for transmitting the payment and/or may receive discountson the purchase. Further, the vehicle payment application 266 mayinclude spending limits for each of the stored financial cards, whichmay be monthly spending limits, yearly spending limits, etc. Forexample, a parent and/or guardian of the user may set a monthly spendinglimit on one of the stored financial cards. When transmitting thepayment would cause the user to exceed the allotted spending limit forthe financial card, the payment authorization screen 360 may include amessage indicating that the payment would cause the financial card toexceed the spending limit and/or requesting the user to select anotherfinancial card. In some scenarios, the user may be able to override thespending limit, for example by entering an emergency override code,receiving permission from the parent and/or guardian who entered thespending limit, etc.

In any event, when the user selects the “YES” button 366, the POSterminal 20 may receive a token representing financial data (e.g., acardholder name, a card number, an expiration date, card type, and/or aCSC code) for the financial card. For example, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may transmit the token for the financial card to the POSterminal 20 via a short-range communication link. In another example,the vehicle payment application 266 may transmit the token for thefinancial card to the electronic circuitry 50 proximately attached tothe exterior of the vehicle 12 via a first short-range communicationlink, which may in turn transmit the token for the financial card to thePOS terminal 20 via a second very short-range communication link, suchas NFC, HF RFID, etc.

In yet another example, the vehicle payment application 266 may havetransmitted the token for the financial card to the electronic circuitry50 when the financial card was initially added to the vehicle paymentapplication 266. When the user selects the financial card by selectingthe “YES” button 366, the vehicle payment application 266 may transmitan indication of the selected financial card to the electronic circuitry50. The indication may be the card type, the name of the issuing bank,the last four digits of the card number, and/or a combination of these.The electronic circuitry 50 may in turn, retrieve the tokencorresponding to the selected financial card, and/or transmit the tokento the POS terminal 20. The POS terminal 20 may then use the token toprocess the payment from the selected financial card.

On the other hand, when the user selects the “NO” button 368, thevehicle payment application 266 may display the financial card selectionscreen 340 as shown in FIG. 3C to allow the user to select anotherfinancial card.

When the establishment associated with the POS terminal 20 is a fuelstation, the vehicle payment system 100 may include furtherfunctionality in addition to making payments from a vehicle. Forexample, when the user selects the “YES” button 366 to transmit thetoken for the financial card to the POS terminal 20, the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may cause the fuel cap of the vehicle 12 toautomatically be opened for receiving fuel. In some embodiments, thefuel cap of the vehicle 12 may be a door which may be attached to a dooropening/closing mechanism such as a lever. The electronic circuitry 50proximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle 12 may becommunicatively coupled to the door opening/closing mechanism and maycontrol the door opening/closing mechanism. In addition to transmittingthe token for the financial card, the vehicle payment application 266may transmit a request to the electronic circuitry 50 to open the door.In other embodiments, the vehicle head unit 14 may be communicativelycoupled to the door opening/closing mechanism and may transmit a controlsignal to the door opening/closing mechanism to open the door.

The fuel tank of the vehicle 12 may also open automatically when thenozzle which provides the fuel makes contact with the fuel tank opening.For example, the fuel tank opening may expand when receiving pressurefrom the nozzle and/or condense when the nozzle is removed from the fueltank opening. In some embodiments, the fuel tank opening may be made ofan elastic material which stretches when receiving pressure from thenozzle.

Additionally in some embodiments, the fuel pump at the fuel station maybe a smart fuel pump and the nozzle may be controlled automatically, forexample via a robotic/mechanical arm. Accordingly, when the POS terminal20 receives the token and the fuel cap is opened, the vehicle head unit14 and/or the electronic circuitry 50 may transmit a signal to the POSterminal 20 indicating that the fuel cap is opened and requesting thePOS terminal 20 to provide fuel to the vehicle 12. In some embodiments,the robotic/mechanical arm may include one or several sensors to detectthe height and/or position of the fuel tank opening (e.g., via proximitysensors, such as ultrasonic, infrared, or radar sensors or any othersuitable sensors that transmit light beams to detect distance and/orshape) and/or to detect that the fuel tank is open (e.g., via variousimage processing techniques). The robotic/mechanical arm and/or thesmart fuel pump may also calculate the distance between the fuel pumpand the fuel tank opening and/or compare this distance to apredetermined maximum distance for placing the nozzle within the fueltank opening. In other embodiments, the vehicle head unit 14 and/or theelectronic circuitry 50 may transmit the position of the fuel tankopening to the POS terminal 20, including the height off the ground ofthe fuel tank opening, the distance between the fuel tank opening andthe POS terminal, etc. When the fuel tank opening is within thepredetermined maximum distance and/or the vehicle is not moving, therobotic/mechanical arm may automatically place the nozzle within thefuel tank opening and provide fuel to the vehicle 12.

On the other hand, when the fuel tank opening is outside thepredetermined maximum distance, the POS terminal 20 may transmit asignal to the vehicle head unit 14 and/or the electronic circuitry 50requesting that the vehicle 12 be moved to a particular location. Forexample, when the vehicle 12 is user-operated the POS terminal 20 maytransmit a request to move to a particular location which may bepresented on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14. In otherembodiments, the POS terminal 20 may include speakers and may transmit avoice announcement directing the user to the particular location. In yetother embodiments, the POS terminal 20 may transmit an image of theposition of the vehicle 12 with an indication of a position that thevehicle need to move to, such as a rectangular outline. The image may bepresented on the display 236 of the vehicle head unit 14.

When the vehicle 12 is autonomous or semi-autonomous, the request may betransmitted to the vehicle head unit 14 to communicate with the softwarewhich controls operation of the vehicle. In any event, the request tomove to a particular location may include a request to move the vehicle12 forward a particular distance, to move the vehicle 12 in reverse aparticular distance 12, to move the vehicle 12 a particular distancetoward the fuel pump, and/or a combination of these. When the vehicle 12moves within the predetermined maximum distance, the robotic arm mayautomatically place the nozzle within the fuel tank opening and providefuel to the vehicle 12. In some embodiments, the autonomous orsemi-autonomous vehicle 12 may automatically navigate to the merchantlocation associated with the POS terminal 20. The autonomous orsemi-autonomous vehicle 12 may also automatically position itself forreceiving the goods or services provided by the merchant, such aspositioning the autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle 12 to receive fuelfrom a nozzle.

In this manner, the entire fueling process may be controlledautomatically without requiring the user to leave his car. Instead, theuser may pay for and fill his vehicle with fuel simply by selectingcontrols on the vehicle head unit 14. Also when the vehicle 12 isautonomous, the autonomous vehicle may travel to the fuel station,receive fuel, and/or pay for the fuel without any assistance from ahuman.

In addition to making payments from a vehicle, automatically opening andclosing a fuel cap and/or communicating with a robotic arm, theelectronic circuitry 50 and/or the vehicle head unit 14 may communicatewith a fuel level sensor in the fuel tank. The vehicle 12 may include afuel level sensor which measures the amount of fuel in the fuel tank.The electronic circuitry 50 and/or the vehicle head unit 14 may becommunicatively coupled to the fuel level sensor.

When the user selects the “YES” button 366 to transmit the token for thefinancial card and/or open the fuel cap of the vehicle 12, theelectronic circuitry 50 and/or the vehicle head unit 14 may measure theamount of fuel in the fuel tank via the fuel level sensor. Theelectronic circuitry 50 and/or the vehicle head unit 14 may perform anadditional measurement of the amount of fuel at the end of the fuelingprocess. Based upon these measurements, the vehicle head unit 14 and/orthe electronic circuitry 50 may determine the amount of fuel provided tothe vehicle from the fuel pump based upon a change in the amount of fuelbefore and after the fueling process. As a result, the vehicle head unit14 and/or the electronic circuitry 50 may estimate a total cost of thefuel based upon the amount of fuel provided to the vehicle. Theestimated total cost may be compared to the total cost generated by thePOS terminal 20. When the estimated total cost and the total costgenerated by the POS terminal 20 differ by more than a threshold amount(e.g., 10 percent), the vehicle head unit 14 and/or the electroniccircuitry 50 may detect a fraudulent charge. Accordingly, the electroniccircuitry 50 may transmit an indication that the payment should not beauthorized to the vehicle head unit 14, and/or the vehicle paymentapplication 266 may present a recommendation on the vehicle head unit 14not to authorize payment for the fuel.

In other embodiments, the electronic circuitry 50 and/or the vehiclehead unit 14 may communicate with a fuel level sensor in the fuel tankto identify when the vehicle needs fuel. For example, when the fuellevel is below a predetermined threshold (e.g., one-quarter of a tank),the vehicle head unit 14 may determine that the vehicle needs fuel.Accordingly, the vehicle head unit 14 may provide an indication to theuser that the vehicle needs fuel and/or may provide a map displayincluding navigation directions to the nearest fuel station whichaccepts vehicle payments. When the vehicle is an autonomous orsemi-autonomous vehicle, the vehicle head unit 14 may automaticallyprovide instructions for the vehicle to navigate to the nearest fuelstation and/or a preferred fuel station which accepts vehicle payments.In addition to detecting fraudulent charges and identifying when thevehicle needs fuel, the fuel level sensor may also be used to determinethat the fuel tank is full. When the fuel tank is full, the electroniccircuitry 50 and/or the vehicle head unit 14 may communicate with thePOS terminal 20, so that the smart fuel pump stops providing fuel.

E. Exemplary Electronic Receipt Screen

After the user authorizes payment for the goods or services and thepayment is accepted, an electronic receipt screen 380 as shown in FIG.3E may be presented by the vehicle payment application 266. Theelectronic receipt screen 380 may include information indicative of thepayment 382, including the name of the establishment where the goods orservices were purchased (John's Gas Station), the date, the total amountpaid, the card type, a masked card number, etc. In some embodiments, theelectronic receipt may also be sent to the user's portable device 10 orother computing device, via email, short message service (SMS), etc.Additionally, the POS terminal 20 may cause the goods or servicespurchased to be provided. In the example above, the POS terminal 20 mayinstruct the robotic/mechanical arm to place the nozzle within the fueltank opening and provide fuel to the vehicle 12 by opening a smart valveto allow fuel to flow into the fuel tank and closing the smart valvewhen the fuel tank is full. In another example, the POS terminal 20 mayprovide instructions to merchant employees to process a food order,deliver dry cleaning, a prescription, etc. More specifically, the POSterminal 20 may determine that a passenger within the vehicle 12 has aprescription that needs to be filled or delivered to the passenger.

IV. Exemplary Flow Diagram for Vehicle Payment System

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram representing an exemplary method 400 forusing a vehicle as a payment device. The method 400 may be executed onthe vehicle head unit 14, the electronic circuitry 50 proximatelyattached to the exterior of the vehicle, and/or a combination of thesedevices. In some embodiments, a portion of the method 400 may beimplemented in a set of instructions stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable memory and executable on one or more processors of thevehicle head unit 14. For example, a portion of the method 400 may beperformed by the vehicle payment application 266 of FIG. 2A. Anotherportion of the method 400 may be implemented in another set ofinstructions stored on another non-transitory computer-readable memoryand executable on one or more processors of the electronic circuitry 50.

At block 402, the vehicle payment application 266 may receive financialdata for a financial card or financial account, such as a cardholdername, an expiration date, a card number, and/or a CSC code. For example,a user may select a user control such as an “Add Credit/Debit Card”button on a home screen (not shown) and/or a financial card selectionscreen of the vehicle payment application 266. The vehicle paymentapplication 266 may then capture an image of the financial card using acamera in the vehicle head unit 14, receive manually entered financialdata for the financial card from the user, import the financial cardfrom another application such as a photo library, email application,etc., and/or an external source such as a portable device 10 incommunication with the vehicle head unit 14, etc.

The vehicle payment application 266 may obtain a token representing thefinancial data for the financial card (block 404). In some embodiments,to obtain a token the vehicle payment application 266 may transmit thefinancial data to a third-party token server 104 as shown in FIG. 1,which may in turn generate and/or store the token with the financialdata that the token represents. Moreover, the third-party token server104 may transmit the token to the vehicle payment application 266.

At block 406, the vehicle payment application 266 may receive a requestto initiate a payment process. For example, the user may select a usercontrol from a payment activation screen of the vehicle paymentapplication 266 indicating the user would like to make a payment fromher vehicle. In some embodiments, the payment activation screen may bedisplayed automatically upon detecting the presence of a wireless signaltransmitted by a POS terminal 20. In other embodiments, the user mayselect a vehicle payment application icon to display the paymentactivation screen.

In any event, the vehicle payment application 266 may authenticate theuser to ensure she is authorized to use stored financial cards to makepayments (block 408). The vehicle payment application 266 may storebiometric information for authorized users, a unique identifier forauthorized users, and/or any other suitable information for identifyingauthorized users. Moreover, the vehicle payment application 266 mayrequest the user to submit a biometric identifier, for example bycapturing an image of the user's face and/or by pressing a finger on thedisplay 236 of the vehicle head unit 14. The vehicle payment application266 may also request the user to enter login information, such as ausername and password, a PIN number, etc. When the biometric identifierand/or login information for the user matches the stored biometricinformation and/or unique identifier for authorized users, the user maybe authenticated. Otherwise, the vehicle payment application 266 maycontinue to receive biometric identifiers and/or login information fromthe user to find a match.

When the user is authenticated, the vehicle payment application 266 mayreceive a selection of a financial card (block 410), for example via afinancial card selection screen. The financial card selection screen mayinclude indications of one or several financial cards stored at thevehicle payment application 266, and the user may select one of thefinancial cards displayed on the financial card selection screen.

Upon selecting a financial card and/or authorizing payment using theselected financial card, the vehicle payment application 266 maytransmit a token representing the financial data for the financial cardto electronic circuitry 50 proximately attached to the exterior of thevehicle 12 (block 412). The token may be transmitted via a firstshort-range communication link. For example, the vehicle head unit 14and the electronic circuitry 50 may be paired using Bluetooth, and thedata may be transmitted over the Bluetooth communication protocol. Inother embodiments, the data may be transmitted over any other suitableshort-range communication link, such as Wi-Fi, USB, DSRC, RFID, etc.Also in some embodiments, the vehicle payment application 266 may havetransmitted the token for the financial card to the electronic circuitry50 when the financial card was initially added to the vehicle paymentapplication 266. When the user selects the financial card, the vehiclepayment application 266 may transmit an indication of the selectedfinancial card to the electronic circuitry 50.

The electronic circuitry 50 may then transmit the token for thefinancial card to a POS terminal 20 for making the payment (block 414).The data may be transmitted over a second very short-range communicationlink, such as NFC, HF RFID, etc. While the method 400 includestransmitting the token for the financial card from the vehicle head unit14 to the POS terminal 20 via electronic circuitry 50 proximatelyattached to the exterior of the vehicle, this is merely an exemplaryembodiment. In other embodiments, the token may be transmitted directlyfrom the vehicle head unit 14 to the POS terminal 20.

In any event, upon receiving the token, the POS terminal 20 may processthe payment from the user. If the payment is accepted, the POS terminal20 may transmit an electronic receipt (block 416) to be presented on thedisplay 236 of the vehicle head unit 14. Additionally, the electronicreceipt may be transmitted to a portable device 10 of the user viaemail, SMS, etc. On the other hand, if the payment is declined, the POSterminal 20 may transmit a message to be presented on the display 236 ofthe vehicle head unit 14 indicating that the selected financial card hasbeen declined and/or to select a different method of payment. The methodmay include additional, fewer, or alternative actions, including thosediscussed elsewhere herein.

V. Exemplary Method for Using a Vehicle as a Payment Device

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for using a vehicle as apayment device may be provided. The method may include: (1) receiving(via one or more processors and/or associated transceivers in a headunit of a vehicle) one or more sets of financial data each correspondingto a financial account for making payments; for each of the one or moresets of financial data; (2) obtaining (via the one or more processorsand/or associated transceivers) a token representing the set offinancial data; and/or in response to receiving an indication from auser within the vehicle that the user wants to initiate a paymentprocess; (3) authenticating (via the one or more processors) the user toensure the user is authorized to use the one or more or financialaccounts for making payments by receiving and verifying authenticationinformation from the user. Upon authenticating the user, the method mayfurther include: (4) receiving (via the one or more processors and/orassociated transceivers) a selection by the user of one of the one ormore financial accounts; (5) transmitting (via the one or moreprocessors and/or associated transceivers, and/or a first wired orwireless communication and/or data transmission over a radio link orwireless communication channel) an indication of the selected financialaccount to an electronic device proximately attached to an exterior ofthe vehicle; and/or (6) transmitting (via the electronic device (and/orassociated transceiver) proximately attached to the exterior of thevehicle and/or a second wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) a token corresponding to the selected financial account toa point-of-sale (POS) terminal to purchase goods or services associatedwith the POS terminal from the vehicle using the selected financialaccount. The method may include additional, fewer, or alternativeactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the electronic device may be attached to a fuel tank capof the vehicle, the POS terminal may be associated with a fuel station,and the method may include transmitting (via the one or more processors)a request to the electronic device to open the fuel tank cap; and/or inresponse to receiving the request, automatically causing (via the one ormore electronic device) the fuel tank cap to open for receiving fuel.

Moreover, the fuel station may include a fuel pump having a robotic armfor automatically pumping fuel into a fuel tank of the vehicle, and themethod may include in response to automatically causing the fuel tankcap to open, transmitting (via the electronic device) an indication tothe fuel pump to insert the fuel into the fuel tank;

Furthermore, the electronic device may be communicatively coupled to afuel level sensor, and the method may include measuring (via theelectronic device via the fuel level sensor) a change in an amount offuel within a fuel tank of the vehicle; receiving (via the electronicdevice) an indication of a payment amount for purchasing the fuel;comparing (via the electronic device) an estimated cost for the fuelbased upon the change in the amount of fuel to the payment amount;and/or when the estimated cost for the fuel and the payment amountdiffer by more than a threshold amount, transmitting (via the electronicdevice to the one or more processors and/or a first wired or wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission) an indication to display arecommendation not to authorize the purchase.

Additionally, the method may include displaying (via the one or moreprocessors on the head unit of the vehicle) a payment amount and arequest for the user to authorize payment for the fuel; transmitting(via the electronic device and/or a second wired or wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission) an indication to the POSterminal that the payment is authorized; and/or displaying (via the oneor more processors on the head unit of the vehicle) an electronicreceipt for the purchase.

The method may also include obtaining (via the one or more processors)user preferences indicating retailers, services, or goods which the userprefers; determining (via the one or more processors) that the user iswithin a threshold distance of a point of interest (POI) thatcorresponds to the user preferences, wherein the POI has a POS terminalconfigured to communicate with the vehicle; and/or receiving (via theone or more processors) a notification that the user is within thethreshold distance of the POI.

Still further, the method may include receiving (via the one or moreprocessors and/or associated transceivers) a payment amount from the POSterminal; and/or displaying (via the one or more processors) the paymentamount and a user control for selecting one of the one or more financialaccounts on the head unit of the vehicle.

The act of authenticating the user to ensure the user is authorized touse the one or more financial accounts may include receiving (via theone or more processors and/or associated transceivers) at least one of:(i) user login information, or (ii) user biometric information;comparing (via the one or more processors) the at least one user logininformation or user biometric information to stored user logininformation or user biometric information; and/or authenticating theuser when there is a match. The act of obtaining a token representingthe set of financial data may include transmitting (via the one or moreprocessors and/or a first wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) the set of financial data to a third-party token server;and/or receiving (via the one or more processors and/or transceivers,and/or a first wired or wireless communication and/or data transmission)a token representing the set of financial data from the third-partytoken server, wherein the third-party token server stores the token andthe set of financial data.

VI. Exemplary System for Using a Vehicle as a Payment Device

In one aspect, a system for using a vehicle as a payment device may beprovided. The system may include one or more processors and/orassociated transceivers in a head unit of a vehicle, an electronicdevice proximately attached to an exterior of the vehicle, and/or anon-transitory computer-readable memory coupled to the one or moreprocessors and storing machine readable instructions, that when executedby the one or more processors, may cause the system to perform varioustasks. For example, the instructions may cause the system to: (1)receive one or more sets of financial data each corresponding to afinancial account for making payments; for each of the one or more setsof financial data; (2) obtain a token representing the set of financialdata; and/or in response to receiving an indication from a user withinthe vehicle that the user wants to initiate a payment process; (3)authenticate the user to ensure the user is authorized to use the one ormore financial accounts for making payments by receiving and verifyingauthentication information from the user. Upon authenticating the user,the instructions may further cause the system to: (4) receive aselection by the user of one of the one or more financial accounts;and/or (5) transmit via a first short-range communication link, anindication of the selected financial account to the electronic deviceproximately attached to the exterior of the vehicle. In response toreceiving the indication of the selected financial account, theelectronic device may be configured to: (6) transmit, via a second veryshort-range communication link, a token corresponding to the selectedfinancial account to a point-of-sale (POS) terminal to purchase goods orservices associated with the POS terminal from the vehicle using theselected financial account. The system may include additional, fewer, oralternate components and/or functionality, including that discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, the electronic device may be attached to a fuel tank capof the vehicle, the POS terminal may be associated with a fuel station,and the instructions may cause the system to transmit a request to theelectronic device to open the fuel tank cap; and/or in response toreceiving the request, the electronic device may be configured toautomatically cause the fuel tank cap to open for receiving fuel.Further, the electronic device may be communicatively coupled to a fuellevel sensor, and the electronic device may be further configured tomeasure, via the fuel level sensor, a change in an amount of fuel withina fuel tank of the vehicle; receive an indication of a payment amountfor purchasing the fuel; compare an estimated cost for the fuel basedupon the change in the amount of fuel to the payment amount; and/or whenthe estimated cost for the fuel and the payment amount differ by morethan a threshold amount, transmit to the one or more processors; anindication to display a recommendation not to authorize the purchase.

Moreover, the fuel station may include a fuel pump having a robotic armfor automatically pumping fuel into a fuel tank electronic device may beconfigured to transmit an indication to the fuel pump to insert the fuelinto the fuel tank.

Additionally, the instructions may cause the system to display, on thehead unit of the vehicle, a payment amount and a request for the user toauthorize payment for the fuel; the electronic device may be configuredto transmit an indication to the POS terminal that the payment isauthorized; and/or the instructions may cause the system to display, onthe head unit of the vehicle, an electronic receipt for the purchase.

Furthermore, the instructions may cause the system to obtain userpreferences indicating retailers, services, or goods which the userprefers; determine that the user is within a threshold distance of apoint of interest (POI) that corresponds to the user preferences,wherein the POI has a POS terminal configured to communicate with thevehicle; and/or receive a notification that the user is within thethreshold distance of the POI. In addition, the instructions may causethe system to receive a payment amount from the POS terminal; and/ordisplay the payment amount and a user control for selecting one of theone or more financial accounts on the head unit of the vehicle.

To authenticate the user to ensure the user is authorized to use the oneor more financial accounts, the instructions may cause the system toreceive at least one of: (i) user login information, or (ii) userbiometric information; compare the at least one user login informationor user biometric information to stored user login information or userbiometric information; and/or authenticate the user when there is amatch. To obtain a token representing the set of financial data, theinstructions may cause the system to transmit the set of financial datato a third-party token server; and/or receive a token representing theset of financial data from the third-party token server, wherein thethird-party token server stores the token and the set of financial data.

VII. Exemplary Communication Flow for Vehicle Payments

FIG. 5 depicts a connected vehicle 12 configured for use as a paymentdevice, and an exemplary wireless communication flow 500 from aconnected vehicle to various merchants having merchant communicationterminals configured to accept vehicle pay. Virtual vehicle pay (orvehicle payments) may be used to purchase various goods, such as fastfood, dry cleaning, coffee, tolls, car washes, drive thru pharmacy,emergency room services, and/or routine vehicle maintenance.

As shown, a standard purchase flow 510 may include (1) presenting priceand/or product information 512, such as on a vehicle central console,vehicle navigation unit, or infotainment system. The price/productinformation may be transmitted to the vehicle from a merchantcommunication terminal or server via wireless communication and/or datatransmission over a radio frequency link. In one embodiment, the priceand/or product information may be transmitted over a short-rangewireless communication channel. After which, a driver or passenger mayclick or touch an “OK” or other icon on a display screen of a vehicleinfotainment system or the like to authorize purchase.

The standard purchase flow 510 may include (2) transmitting financialpayment data 514 from the vehicle to the merchant communication terminalor server. The financial payment data may include information related tothe name of the driver or passenger, their billing address, CSV, atokenized card number (such as a credit or debit card), and/or one ormore tokens or encryption or other keys used to facilitate securefinancial transactions.

The standard purchase flow 510 may include (3) providing an electronicreceipt 516 for goods or services purchased via the vehicle payment. Thereceipt may be emailed to the driver or passenger's mobile device, orstored in a cloud location accessible by the vehicle or a mobile device.

Also shown in FIG. 5 is an exemplary gas purchase flow 520. The gaspurchase flow 520 may include (1) sending or transmitting financialpayment data 522 to a merchant or gas station communication terminal orserver via wireless communication or data transmission over a radiofrequency link. In one embodiment, a short-range wireless communicationchannel may be used. The financial payment data may include a tokenizedcard number, name, billing address, CSV, and/or tokens or encryptionkeys to enable secure financial transactions.

The gas purchase flow 520 may include (2) the merchant or gas stationcommunication terminal or server transmitting price and/or productinformation 524 before and/or after fueling the vehicle. Theprice/product information may include price per gallon of gasolineand/or number of gallons to be purchased, or that have already beenpumped. The price and/or product information may be transmitted over theshort-range wireless communication channel.

The gas purchase flow 520 may include (3) the driver or passenger beingpresented with the price and/or product information 526, such as via adisplay of a vehicle infotainment system, vehicle navigation system, orcentral control console. After the user touches an “OK” icon or thelike, the vehicle may transmit, such as over the short-range wirelesscommunication channel, an authorization to the gas station communicationterminal to charge an amount indicated to pay for the gasolinepurchased.

The gas purchase flow 520 may include (4) the gas station communicationterminal or server transmitting an electronic receipt 528 detailing thepurchase of gasoline. The receipt may be, for example, emailed to theuser's mobile device, to the vehicle, or sent to a mail box located oraccessible via the cloud.

In one embodiment, the driver or passenger financial information (or anaccount associated with the vehicle itself) (or even driver or passengerbiometric data stored in database, with the driver's or passenger'spermission or affirmative consent) may be required to be received andverified by the gas station communication terminal, such as a “smart”gas pump, before the smart gas pump will be activated, or otherwise pumpor transfer gasoline to the vehicle's gas tank.

In another embodiment, upon entering the vehicle, the driver orpassenger may be authenticated by one or more of the following: PIN,voice recognition, facial scan, finger print scan, retina scan,authenticated key fob, presence and/or identification of a mobile device(e.g., smart phone, smart watch, or wearable electronics). The data maybe transmitted from the vehicle to a merchant computer or terminal byRFID, DSRC powered signals, Bluetooth low energy, or Wi-Fi signals. Theprimary driver interface may be the infotainment system of the vehicle,vehicle navigation system, and/or an autonomous vehicle controller orcontrol system, for examples.

Additional features may include the ability of the vehicle communicationsystem/controller to cap spending for each user, each user account,and/or a vehicle account (such as virtual account established for anautonomous vehicle to insure that the autonomous vehicle has access to,or is authorized a certain amount of monies to pay for gasoline orvehicle maintenance). For instance, a parent may cap a teen's account ata given level. Payment methods may include the use of toggle buttons.

A link to merchant loyalty reward programs may be associated with thevarious user or vehicle financial accounts used. Other links may beprovided, such as links to insurance provider accounts, banking or debitaccounts, and/or links to provide medical insurance or health insuranceprovider and account information upon a visit to a doctor, hospital,clinic, or emergency room.

VIII. Exemplary Vehicle Payment Embodiments

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary computer-implemented method of using aconnected (or smart) vehicle as an electronic payment device 600. Themethod 600 may include (1) identifying or determining, via one or more(vehicle-mounted, mobile device, or other) processors and/or biometricsensors, an identification of a driver or passenger within a vehicle602; (2) detecting, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers,a triggering event (such as the vehicle being within short-range (and/orlow energy) communication range with a merchant communication terminal)604; (3) presenting, via the one or more processors, a display askingthe driver or passenger if they would like to authorize payment from avirtual account for nearby goods or services associated with a merchant,the virtual account associated with, or linked with, the driver orpassenger identified (and/or the vehicle) 606; (4) accepting, via theone or more processors, an input from the driver or passengerauthorizing payment for the goods or services from the virtual account608; (5) securely, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers,transferring funds from the virtual account to a merchant's virtualaccount (via wireless communication with the merchant communicationterminal over a short-range communication channel) 610; and/or (6)accepting, via the one or more processors, the goods or services, and/orpresenting a notification that payment for the goods or services hasbeen accepted 612 to facilitate the vehicle acting as an payment devicefor a commercial transaction.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using a connectedvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The method mayinclude (1) identifying or determining, via one or more processorsand/or sensors, an identification of a connected vehicle (such as viaobject recognition performed on license plate digital images of thevehicle); (2) detecting, via the one or more processors and/ortransceivers, a triggering event (such as the vehicle being withinshort-range communication range with a merchant communication terminal);(3) presenting, via the one or more processors, a display asking adriver or passenger of the vehicle if they would like to authorizepayment from a virtual account for nearby goods or services provided bya merchant, the virtual account associated with, or linked with, thevehicle identified; (4) accepting, via the one or more processors, aninput from the driver or passenger authorizing payment for the goods orservices; (5) securely, via the one or more processors and/ortransceivers, transferring funds from the virtual account to amerchant's virtual account (via wireless communication with the merchantcommunication terminal over a short-range communication channel); and/or(6) accepting, via the one or more processors, the goods or services, orpresenting a notification that payment for the goods or services hasbeen accepted to facilitate the vehicle acting as an payment device fora commercial transaction.

FIG. 7 depicts another exemplary computer-implemented method of using aconnected vehicle as an electronic payment device 700. The method 700may include (1) identifying or determining, via one or more(vehicle-mounted) processors and/or biometric sensors, an identificationof a driver or passenger within a vehicle 702; (2) detecting, via theone or more processors and/or transceivers, a triggering event(indicating that a merchant communication terminal is in short-range(and/or low energy) wireless communication or data transmission rangewith the one or more processors and/or transceivers) 704; (3)identifying, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, amerchant associated the merchant communication terminal 706; (4)transmitting, via the one or more processors and/or transceivers, anorder for goods or services from the merchant to the merchantcommunication terminal via a short-range wireless communication or datatransmission channel 708; and/or (5) transmitting, via the one or moreprocessors and/or transceivers, the identification of the driver orpassenger, and/or a virtual financial account of the driver or passengerto the merchant communication terminal via the short-range wirelesscommunication or data transmission channel 710 to facilitate securevehicle payment of goods or services.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using a connectedvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The method mayinclude (1) identifying or determining, via one or more (vehicle-mountedor merchant communication-mounted) processors and/or sensors, anidentification of a driver or passenger within a vehicle and/or anidentification of a connected vehicle (such as via object recognitiontechniques performed on digital images of the vehicle identifying thevehicle license plate); (2) detecting, via the one or more(vehicle-mounted or merchant communication-mounted) processors and/ortransceivers, a triggering event (indicating that a merchantcommunication terminal is in short-range wireless communication or datatransmission range with the connected vehicle and/or the one or morevehicle-mounted processors and/or transceivers); (3) identifying, viathe one or more (vehicle-mounted) processors and/or transceivers, amerchant associated the merchant communication terminal, or transmittingan identification of the merchant from the merchant communicationterminal to the connected vehicle; (4) transmitting, via the one or more(vehicle-mounted) processors and/or transceivers, an order for goods orservices provided by the merchant to the merchant communication terminalvia a short-range wireless communication or data transmission channel,or receiving, via the (merchant communication terminal) processorsand/or transceivers the order for goods or services from the connectedvehicle; and/or (5) transmitting, via the one or more (vehicle-mounted)processors and/or transceivers, the identification of the driver orpassenger (and/or vehicle), and/or a virtual financial account of thedriver or passenger (and/or vehicle) to the merchant communicationterminal via the short-range wireless communication or data transmissionchannel, or receiving, via the (merchant communication terminal)processors and/or transceivers the identification of the driver orpassenger (and/or vehicle), and/or a virtual financial account of thedriver or passenger (and/or vehicle) to facilitate secure vehiclepayment of goods or services.

The foregoing methods may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein. The foregoingmethods may be implemented via one or more local or remote processors,sensors, and/or transceivers, and/or via computer-executableinstructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium or media.

For instance, the one or more processors and/or biometric sensors mayemploy or use a PIN number, voice or facial recognition techniques,facial scan, finger print scan, retina scan, authenticated key fob,smart phone or mobile device recognition techniques, and/or weight orpressure sensors to identify or verify the driver or passenger withinthe vehicle.

The triggering event may include detecting, via the one or moreprocessors, that the vehicle is within direct communication range of amerchant's smart terminal, sensor, processor, server, or transceiver,such as within Wi-Fi, RFID, or Bluetooth short-range wirelesscommunication range. The triggering event may include detecting, via theone or more processors, that the vehicle is within a predetermineddistance of a smart gas pump, such as by comparison of the vehicle'scurrent GPS location with a predetermined GPS location of a gas station,and the goods or services is gasoline. The triggering event may includedetecting, via the one or more processors, that the vehicle is within apredetermined distance of a merchant's smart communication terminal,such as by comparison of the vehicle's GPS location with the GPSlocation of the merchant, and the goods or services is food, drycleaning, coffee, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and/or vehiclemaintenance. The triggering event may include detecting, via the one ormore processors, that the vehicle is within a predetermined distance ofa merchant's smart communication terminal, such as by using a camera,digital image analysis, a radar unit's images or data, infrared sensordata, 3D data, and/or other sensor data. Additionally or alternatively,the triggering event may include detecting, via the one or moreprocessors, that the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of amerchant's smart communication terminal, such as by using a camera anddigital image analysis (such as object recognition or optical characterrecognition) techniques. Other triggering events may be used.

The vehicle may be a self-driving or autonomous vehicle that directsitself to, and/or about, the merchant's physical location or parkinglot, and/or positions itself to receive the goods or services. Forinstance, an autonomous vehicle may drive itself to the “drive-thru” ata fast food place, or to a gas pump of a gas station.

The method may include building a list of preferred merchants ormerchant locations for the driver or passenger, the preferred merchantsor merchant locations allowing for, or configured to accept, vehiclepayments. The trigger event may also include determining that themerchant or merchant location is on the list of preferred merchants ormerchant locations before allowing secure wireless communication with amerchant communication terminal. For example, after detecting one of thetrigger event mentioned herein, the method may further include verifyingthat the merchant's communication terminal is associated with a merchantor merchant location listed, or included within a list of preferredmerchants or merchant locations for the driver or passenger identifiedusing biometric or other data.

In one aspect, a computer system configured to use a connected vehicleas an electronic payment device may be provided. The computer system mayinclude one or more (vehicle-mounted) processors, sensors, biometricsensors, and/or transceivers configured to: (1) identify a driver orpassenger within a vehicle, such as by mobile device print or ID, or viabiometric data; (2) detect a triggering event, such as the vehicle beingwithin short-range communication range of the merchant; (3) present adisplay asking the driver or passenger if they would like to authorizepayment from a virtual account for nearby goods or services, the virtualaccount associated with, or linked with, the driver or passenger, orvehicle; (4) accept an input from the driver or passenger authorizingpayment for the goods or services; (5) securely transfer funds from thevirtual account to a merchant's virtual account or merchantcommunication terminal (such as via wireless communication or datatransmission over a short-range wireless communication channel); and/or(6) accept the goods or services, or move the vehicle in proximity tothe goods or services (such as automatically drive an autonomous vehicleto a drive-thru window or up to a gas pump), to facilitate the vehicleacting as an payment device.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to use a connectedvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more (merchant communication terminal-mounted)processors, sensors, biometric sensors, and/or transceivers configuredto: (1) identify an autonomous or other vehicle, such as by licenseplate scan; (2) detect a triggering event; (3) transmit a message askingthe driver or passenger of the vehicle if they would like to authorizepayment from a virtual account for nearby goods or services, the virtualaccount associated with, or linked with, the driver or passenger, and/orthe autonomous or other vehicle (such as via wireless communication ordata transmission over a short-range wireless communication channel);(4) receive an electronic response from the driver or passengerauthorizing payment for the goods or services (such as via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over a short-range wirelesscommunication channel); (5) securely transferring funds from the virtualaccount to a merchant's virtual account or merchant communicationterminal (such as via wireless communication or data transmission over ashort-range wireless communication channel); and/or (6) delivering thegoods or services into or in proximity the connected vehicle tofacilitate the vehicle acting as an payment device.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to facilitate using aconnected vehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. Thecomputer system may include one or more vehicle-mounted processors,biometric or other sensors, and/or transceivers configured to: (1)identify a driver or passenger within a vehicle (such as by usingbiometric sensor or mobile device sensor data); (2) detect a triggeringevent (indicating that a merchant communication terminal is inshort-range wireless communication or data transmission range with theone or more processors and/or transceivers); (3) identify a merchantassociated the merchant communication terminal; (4) transmit an orderfor goods or services from the merchant to the merchant communicationterminal via a short-range wireless communication or data transmissionchannel); and/or (5) transmit the identification of the driver orpassenger, and/or a virtual financial account of the driver or passengerto the merchant communication terminal via the short-range wirelesscommunication or data transmission channel to facilitate secure vehiclepayment of goods or services.

The foregoing computer systems may include additional, less, oralternate functionality including that discussed elsewhere herein. Forinstance, the one or more processors and/or biometric sensors employ oruse a PIN number, voice or facial recognition techniques, facial scan,finger print scan, retina scan, authenticated key fob, smart phone ormobile device recognition techniques, and/or weight or pressure sensorsto identify or verify the driver or passenger within the vehicle.

IX. Additional Exemplary Vehicle Payment Embodiments

FIG. 8 depicts another exemplary computer-implemented method of using aconnected vehicle as an electronic payment device 800. The method 800may include (1) identifying, via one or more (vehicle-mounted)processors and/or biometric sensors, an identification of a driver orpassenger within an autonomous or other vehicle, the one or morebiometric sensors recognizing a person's voice, image, finger print,weight, etc. 802; (2) detecting, via the one or more processors and/ortransceivers, a triggering event, the triggering event including theautonomous or other vehicle being (i) within a predetermined distance ofa merchant transceiver or server, and/or (ii) within direct wirelesscommunication or data transmission with the merchant transceiver orserver (such as direct RFID, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth wireless communication,e.g., within a pre-determined short range distance, such as 5 feet, 8-10feet, 10-25 feet, or 10-50 feet) 804; (3) presenting, via the one ormore processors, a display asking the driver or passenger if they wouldlike to authorize payment from a virtual account for nearby goods orservices, or audibly asking the driver or passenger if they would liketo authorize payment from the virtual account for the nearby goods orservices, the virtual account associated with, or linked with, thedriver or passenger identification and/or the vehicle (or a vehicleidentification) 806; (4) accepting, via the one or more processors, aninput (or manual, visible, or audible) response from the driver orpassenger authorizing payment for the goods or services 808; (5)securely, via the one or more processors, electronically transferringfunds from the virtual account to a merchant's virtual account to payfor the goods or services 810; and/or (6) accepting, via the one or moreprocessors, the goods or services, or automatically or otherwisedirecting the vehicle to move in proximity of the goods or services(such as a window or gas pump) to receive them 812, to facilitate thevehicle acting as an payment device. The method may include additional,less, or alternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein,and/or may be implemented via one or more local or remote processors,sensors, and/or transceivers.

For instance, the goods or services may be offered by a road-sidemerchant, such as gas station, vehicle repair shop, bank, fast food orother restaurant, grocery store, pharmacy, coffee shop, dry cleaners,etc. The goods or services offered may be gasoline, and the gas stationmay be equipped with a smart gas pump that automatically fills up thegas tank of the autonomous or other vehicle. For instance, the gasstation may be equipped with a smart gas pump that automatically fillsup the gas tank of the autonomous or other vehicle when it is detectedby one or more sensors that the autonomous or other vehicle has stopped,and/or is close enough to, or within range of, the smart gas pump.Additionally or alternatively, the gas station may be equipped with asmart gas pump that automatically fills up the gas tank of theautonomous or other vehicle, such as by extending an automated ormechanical arm attached to a nozzle, the automated or mechanical armextends the nozzle into the gas tank opening of the autonomous or othervehicle.

The vehicle may be a self-driving or autonomous vehicle that directsitself to, and/or about, the merchant's physical location or parkinglot, and/or positions itself to receive the goods or services. Themethod may include building a list of preferred merchants or merchantlocations for the driver or passenger (and/or vehicle), the preferredmerchants or merchant locations allowing for, or configured to accept,vehicle payments. The trigger event may include, solely or incombination with other events detected, determining that the merchant ormerchant location is on the list of preferred merchants or merchantlocations before allowing secure wireless communication with a merchantcommunication terminal.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to facilitate using aconnected vehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. Thecomputer system may include one or more vehicle-mounted processors,biometric or other sensors, and/or transceivers configured to: (1)identify an identification of a driver or passenger within an autonomousor other vehicle, the one or more biometric sensors recognizing aperson's voice, image, finger print, weight, height, etc.; (2) detect atriggering event, the triggering event including the autonomous or othervehicle being (i) within a predetermined distance of a merchanttransceiver or server, and/or (ii) within direct wireless communicationor data transmission with the merchant transceiver or server (such asdirect RFID, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth wireless communication, e.g., within apre-determined short range distance, such as within 8-10 feet); (3)present a display asking the driver or passenger if they would like toauthorize payment from a virtual account for nearby goods or services,or audibly ask the driver or passenger if they would like to authorizepayment from the virtual account for the nearby goods or services, thevirtual account associated with, or linked with, the driver or passengeridentification and/or the vehicle (or a vehicle identification); (4)accept an input (or manual, visible, or audible) response from thedriver or passenger authorizing payment for the goods or services; (5)securely electronically transfer funds from the virtual account to amerchant's virtual account to pay for the goods or services; and/or (6)accept the goods or services, or automatically or otherwise direct the(autonomous or other) vehicle to move in proximity of the goods orservices to receive them, to facilitate the vehicle acting as an paymentdevice. The computer system may include additional, less, or alternatefunctionality, including that discussed elsewhere herein.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using aconnected vehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. Themethod may include: (1) obtaining (via one or more processors)identification information for a user within a vehicle or for thevehicle; authenticating (via the one or more processors) the user or thevehicle based upon the identification information to ensure the user orthe vehicle is authorized to use a virtual account for purchasing goodsor services; and/or (3) detecting (via the one or more processors) atriggering event indicating that the vehicle is within a predeterminedrange for communicating with a merchant communication terminal of amerchant. The method may further include (4) presenting (via the one ormore processors) a display including an indication of goods or servicesthat can be purchased at the merchant communication terminal and a usercontrol for transmitting a request to order the goods or services to themerchant communication terminal; and/or in response to receiving aselection of the user control: (5) transmitting (via the one or moreprocessors and/or a wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) the request to order the goods or services to the merchantcommunication terminal; and/or (6) securely transferring (via the one ormore processors and/or a wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) funds from the virtual account to a virtual account of themerchant to facilitate secure vehicle payment of goods and services.

The foregoing methods may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein. The foregoingmethods may be implemented via one or more local or remote processors,sensors, and/or transceivers, and/or via computer-executableinstructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium or media.

For instance, the identification information may include a PIN number, afacial scan, a finger print scan, a retina scan, a voice scan, anauthenticated key fob, mobile device identification information, sensordata from weight or pressure sensors within the vehicle which detect aweight of a driver or passenger within the vehicle, or a license platenumber for the vehicle.

The triggering event may include at least one of: (1) detecting, by theone or more processors, that the vehicle is within Wi-Fi, RadioFrequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth communication range of themerchant communication terminal by receiving a Wi-Fi, RFID, or Bluetoothsignal from the merchant communication terminal; (2) detecting, by theone or more processors, that the vehicle is within a predetermineddistance of the merchant communication terminal by comparing a currentlocation of the vehicle to the location of the merchant communicationterminal; and/or (3) detecting, by the one or more processors, that thevehicle is within a predetermined distance of the merchant communicationterminal by capturing images, via a camera within the vehicle, of anarea surrounding the vehicle, and identifying, using digital imageanalysis techniques, the merchant communication terminal within at leastone of the images and a position of the merchant communication terminalrelative to the vehicle.

The goods or services provided by the merchant may include at least oneof: gasoline, food, dry cleaning, coffee, groceries, pharmaceuticals, orvehicle maintenance. The merchant may be at least one of: a gas station,a vehicle repair shop, a bank, a fast food or other restaurant, agrocery store, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, or a dry cleaners.

The vehicle may be an autonomous vehicle which automatically navigatesto the merchant communication terminal and further navigates to aposition relative to the merchant communication terminal for receivingthe goods or services from the merchant.

The merchant may be a gas station and the user control for transmittinga request to order the goods or services may further transmit anauthorization of payment from the virtual account associated with thevehicle.

The method may further include generating (via the one or moreprocessors) a list of preferred merchants for the user that acceptvehicle payments, wherein detecting a triggering event may includedetermining (via the one or more processors) that the detected merchantcommunication terminal is for a merchant that is on the list ofpreferred merchants before communicating with the merchant communicationterminal.

X. Exemplary Autonomous Vehicle Embodiments

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary computer-implemented method of re-fueling anautonomous vehicle and locating merchants that accept vehicle pay 900.The method 900 may include, via one or more vehicle-mounted or merchantcommunication terminal-mounted processors, sensors, and/or transceivers,generating a virtual map of merchant locations that allow vehiclepayments and that the user prefers, frequents, or typically uses alongtheir daily commute via machine learning 902; determining an autonomousvehicle needs gasoline via a gas tank gauge or sensor 904; using thevirtual map to determine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of theautonomous vehicle (such as by using GPS locations of the merchants andthe autonomous vehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing theautonomous vehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehiclepayment 906; determining or detecting that the autonomous vehicle iswithin short-range wireless communication range of a merchant smartwireless communication terminal 908; transmitting an order and virtualaccount information of the passenger or vehicle from the autonomousvehicle to be received at the merchant terminal via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over the short-range communicationchannel or radio link 910; determining or detecting the height of,and/or distance to the vehicle gas tank opening from a smart gas pump ormerchant terminal via one or more vehicle or terminal-mounted sensors912; automatically filling the gas tank of the autonomous vehicle underautonomous vehicle or terminal-mounted processor and/or sensor control914; and/or generating and transmitting an electronic notification thatpayment was received and that the vehicle gassing is completed at thecommunication terminal, or receiving such electronic notification at theautonomous vehicle 916. The method may include additional, less, oralternate actions, including those discussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the method may include, via one or more vehicle-mounted ormerchant communication terminal-mounted processors, sensors, and/ortransceivers, generating a virtual map of merchant locations that allowvehicle payments and that the user prefers, frequents, or typically usesalong their daily commute via machine learning 902. For instance, aprocessor or a processing element may be trained using supervised orunsupervised machine learning, and the machine learning program mayemploy a neural network, which may be a convolutional neural network, adeep learning neural network, or a combined learning module or programthat learns in two or more fields or areas of interest. Machine learningmay involve identifying and recognizing patterns in existing data inorder to facilitate making predictions for subsequent data. Models maybe created based upon example inputs in order to make valid and reliablepredictions for novel inputs.

Additionally or alternatively, the machine learning programs may betrained by inputting sample data sets or certain data into the programs,such as image, mobile device, vehicle telematics, and/or GPS or locationdata. The machine learning programs may utilize deep learning algorithmsthat may be primarily focused on pattern recognition, and may be trainedafter processing multiple examples. The machine learning programs mayinclude Bayesian program learning (BPL), voice recognition andsynthesis, image or object recognition, optical character recognition,and/or natural language processing—either individually or incombination. The machine learning programs may also include naturallanguage processing, semantic analysis, automatic reasoning, and/ormachine learning.

In supervised machine learning, a processing element may be providedwith example inputs and their associated outputs, and may seek todiscover a general rule that maps inputs to outputs, so that whensubsequent novel inputs are provided the processing element may, basedupon the discovered rule, accurately predict the correct output. Inunsupervised machine learning, the processing element may be required tofind its own structure in unlabeled example inputs. In one embodiment,machine learning techniques may be used to extract the relevant personalor vehicle travel patterns, preferred travel patterns or routes,preferred or regularly used merchants or merchant chains, such asrestaurant or gas station national or regional chains from mobile devicesensors, vehicle-mounted sensors, vehicle telematics data, routeinformation, GPS data, and/or other sensor data, image data, and/orother data.

In one embodiment, a processing element may be trained by providing itwith a large sample of conventional analog and/or digital, still and/ormoving (i.e., video) image data, telematics data, and/or other data ofroutes, maps, roads, typical routes, etc. with known characteristics orfeatures. Based upon these analyses, the processing element may learnhow to identify characteristics and patterns (including routes) that maythen be applied to analyzing sensor data, vehicle telematics data, imagedata, mobile device data, GPS data, and/or other data. For example, theprocessing element may learn, with the customer's permission oraffirmative consent, to identify the preferred routes of the driver orvehicle, the type of merchants (such as merchants providing goods suchas gasoline and food) that the driver or vehicle typically uses,purchases, or prefers, and/or purchasing patterns of the customer, suchas by analysis of virtual receipts, customer virtual accounts withonline or physical retailers, mobile device data, interconnect vehicledata, etc. For the goods identified, a virtual inventory of merchantpreferences for an individual or a family vehicle may be maintainedcurrent and up-to-date. As a result, autonomous vehicles may be routedto a preferred merchant, such as when a sensor indicates that theautonomous vehicle needs fuel, or when a passenger indicates that theywould like certain goods or services, such as stopping at a preferredrestaurant for food.

The method 900 may also include automatically filling the gas tank ofthe autonomous vehicle under autonomous vehicle or terminal-mountedprocessor and/or sensor control 914. For instance, after a merchantcommunication terminal (such as a smart gas pump) determines that theautonomous vehicle is in position and ready to receive gas, the merchantcommunication terminal may (1) move a robotic arm with a gas nozzle intoposition; (2) sense that a smart or other nozzle is in position, such aswithin a gas tank opening; (3) open a smart valve to allow gasoline toflow into the autonomous vehicle gas tank; (4) receive an indicationfrom a sensor that the gas tank is almost full; (6) shut the smart valveto stop the flow of gasoline; and/or (7) retract the robotic arm.

In one aspect, a computer system for re-fueling an autonomous vehicleand locating merchants that accept vehicle pay may be provided. Thecomputer system may include one or more autonomous vehicle-mounted ormerchant communication terminal-mounted processors, sensors, and/ortransceivers that are configured to: (1) generate a virtual map ofmerchant locations that allow vehicle payments and that the userprefers, frequents, or typically uses along their daily commute viamachine learning; (2) determine that an autonomous vehicle needsgasoline via a gas tank gauge or sensor; (3) use the virtual map todetermine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle(such as by using GPS locations of the merchants and the autonomousvehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing the autonomousvehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehicle payment; (4)determine or detect that the autonomous vehicle is within short-rangewireless communication range of a merchant smart wireless communicationterminal; (5) transmit an order and virtual account information of thepassenger or vehicle from the autonomous vehicle to be received at themerchant terminal via wireless communication or data transmission overthe short-range communication channel or radio link; (6) determine ordetect the height of, and/or distance to the vehicle gas tank openingfrom a smart gas pump or merchant terminal via one or more vehicle orterminal-mounted sensors; (7) automatically fill the gas tank of theautonomous vehicle under autonomous vehicle or terminal-mountedprocessor and/or sensor control; and/or (8) generate and transmit anelectronic notification that payment was received and that the vehiclegassing is completed at the communication terminal, or receiving suchelectronic notification at the autonomous vehicle to facilitatecommercial transactions completed via autonomous vehicle payment.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of re-fueling anautonomous vehicle and locating merchants that accept vehicle pay may beprovided. The method may include, via one or more autonomousvehicle-mounted processors, sensors, and/or transceivers: (1) generatinga virtual map of merchant locations that allow vehicle payments and thatthe user prefers, frequents, or typically uses along their daily commutevia machine learning; (2) determining that the autonomous vehicle needsgasoline (such as via a gas tank gauge or sensor); (3) using the virtualmap to determine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of the autonomousvehicle (such as by using GPS locations of the merchants and theautonomous vehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing theautonomous vehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehiclepayment; (4) determining or detecting that the autonomous vehicle iswithin short-range wireless communication range of a merchant smartwireless communication terminal; (5) transmitting an order and virtualaccount information of the passenger or vehicle from the autonomousvehicle to be received at the merchant terminal via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over the short-range communicationchannel or radio link; (6) transmitting the height off the ground of thevehicle gas tank opening to the merchant terminal via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over the short-range communicationchannel or radio link; (7) opening a vehicle gas tank cover; (8)transmitting an indication that the vehicle gas tank cover is open (toallow filling of the gas tank by a smart gas pump) to the merchantterminal via wireless communication or data transmission over theshort-range communication channel or radio link; (9) detecting that thegas tank is almost full; (10) transmitting an indication that the gastank is almost full, and to stop fueling the vehicle, to the merchantterminal via wireless communication or data transmission over theshort-range communication channel or radio link; and/or (11) receivingan electronic receipt for the gasoline pumped into the autonomousvehicle by the merchant terminal to facilitate commercial transactionsusing vehicle payment.

In another aspect, a computer system configured for re-fueling anautonomous vehicle and locating merchants that accept vehicle pay may beprovided. The computer system may include autonomous vehicle-mountedprocessors, sensors, and/or transceivers that are configured to: (1)generate a virtual map of merchant locations that allow vehicle paymentsand that the user prefers, frequents, or typically uses along theirdaily commute via machine learning; (2) determine that the autonomousvehicle needs gasoline (such as via a gas tank gauge or sensor); (3) usethe virtual map to determine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of theautonomous vehicle (such as by using GPS locations of the merchants andthe autonomous vehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing theautonomous vehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehiclepayment; (4) determine or detect that the autonomous vehicle is withinshort-range wireless communication range of a merchant smart wirelesscommunication terminal; (5) transmit an order and virtual accountinformation of the passenger or vehicle from the autonomous vehicle tobe received at the merchant terminal via wireless communication or datatransmission over the short-range communication channel or radio link;(6) transmit the height off the ground of the vehicle gas tank openingto the merchant terminal via wireless communication or data transmissionover the short-range communication channel or radio link; (7) open avehicle gas tank cover; (8) transmit an indication that the vehicle gastank cover is open (to allow filling of the gas tank by a smart gaspump/merchant terminal) to the merchant terminal via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over the short-range communicationchannel or radio link; (9) detect that the gas tank is almost full; (10)transmit an indication that the gas tank is almost full, and to stopfueling the vehicle, to the merchant terminal via wireless communicationor data transmission over the short-range communication channel or radiolink; and/or (11) receive an electronic receipt for the gasoline pumpedinto the autonomous vehicle by the merchant terminal to facilitatecommercial transactions using vehicle payment.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented method of using anautonomous vehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. Themethod may include: (1) generating (via one or more processors in anautonomous vehicle) a virtual map display of a geographic area includingindications of merchant locations that accept vehicle payments, whereinthe merchant locations are preferred locations for a user as indicatedby user preferences; (2) determining (via the one or more processors viaa fuel level sensor) that an amount of gasoline in the autonomousvehicle is less than a threshold amount of gasoline; (3) selecting (viathe one or more processors) one of the merchant locations included inthe virtual map display which provides gasoline and accepts virtualpayments; and/or (4) generating and providing (via the one or moreprocessors) navigation directions for the autonomous vehicle to navigateto the selected merchant location. Upon arriving at the selectedmerchant location, the method may further include: (4) transmitting (viathe one or more processors and/or associated transceivers, and/or awired or wireless communication and/or data transmission) to a merchantcommunication terminal at the merchant location, a request to purchasegasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; upon detecting,via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of the autonomous vehicle isfull, (5) transmitting (via the one or more processors and/or associatedtransceivers, and/or a wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) a request to stop fueling the vehicle; and/or (6)receiving (via the one or more processors and/or associatedtransceivers, and/or a wired or wireless communication and/or datatransmission) an electronic receipt for the gasoline pumped into theautonomous vehicle by the merchant communication terminal to facilitatecommercial transactions using vehicle payments.

The foregoing methods may include additional, less, or alternateactions, including those discussed elsewhere herein. The foregoingmethods may be implemented via one or more local or remote processors,sensors, and/or transceivers, and/or via computer-executableinstructions stored on non-transitory computer-readable medium or media.

For instance, the merchant location may include a smart gas pump thatautomatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle; and/or inresponse to receiving the indication that the gas tank cover is open,the merchant communication terminal may cause the smart gas pump toprovide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle. The smart gas pump mayautomatically provide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle by extending amechanical arm attached to a nozzle into the gas tank opening of theautonomous vehicle.

The method may include opening (via the one or more processors) a gastank cover for the autonomous vehicle; and/or providing (via the one ormore processors) an indication to the merchant communication terminalthat the gas tank cover is open and an indication of a position of a gastank opening for the autonomous vehicle.

Additionally, the method may include measuring (via the one or moreprocessors via the fuel level sensor) a change in the amount of gasolinewithin the gas tank of the autonomous vehicle; comparing (via the one ormore processors) a payment amount indicated in the electronic receipt toan estimated cost for the gasoline based upon the change in the amountof gasoline; and/or when the estimated cost for the gasoline and thepayment amount differ by more than a threshold amount, detecting (viathe one or more processors) a fraudulent charge.

Furthermore, the method may include receiving (via the one or moreprocessors and/or associated transceivers, and/or a wired or wirelesscommunication and/or data transmission) a payment amount and a requestto authorize payment for the gasoline; and/or transmitting (via the oneor more processors and/or associated transceivers, and/or a wired orwireless communication and/or data transmission) an indication to themerchant communication terminal that the payment is authorized.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to use an autonomousvehicle as an electronic payment device may be provided. The computersystem may include one or more processors, transceivers, and/or sensorsconfigured to: (1) generate a virtual map display of a geographic areaincluding indications of merchant locations that accept vehiclepayments, wherein the merchant locations are preferred locations for auser as indicated by user preferences; (2) determine, via a fuel levelsensor, that an amount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicle is lessthan a threshold amount of gasoline; and/or (3) select one of themerchant locations included in the virtual map display which providesgasoline and accepts virtual payments. The computer system may befurther configured to: (4) generate and provide navigation directionsfor the autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected merchantlocation; upon arriving at the selected merchant location, (5) transmit,to a merchant communication terminal at the merchant location, a requestto purchase gasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; (6)upon detecting, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full, transmit a request to stop fueling thevehicle; and/or (7) receive an electronic receipt for the gasolinepumped into the autonomous vehicle by the merchant communicationterminal to facilitate commercial transactions using vehicle payments.The computer system may include additional, fewer, or alternatecomponents and/or functionality, including that may be discussedelsewhere herein.

For instance, the merchant location may include a smart gas pump thatautomatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle; and/or inresponse to receiving the indication that the gas tank cover is open,the merchant communication terminal may cause the smart gas pump toprovide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle. The smart gas pump mayautomatically provide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle by extending amechanical arm attached to a nozzle into the gas tank opening of theautonomous vehicle.

The computer system may be configured to open a gas tank cover for theautonomous vehicle; and/or provide an indication to the merchantcommunication terminal that the gas tank cover is open and an indicationof a position of a gas tank opening for the autonomous vehicle.

Additionally, the computer system may be configured to measure (via thefuel level sensor) a change in the amount of gasoline within the gastank of the autonomous vehicle; compare a payment amount indicated inthe electronic receipt to an estimated cost for the gasoline based uponthe change in the amount of gasoline; and/or when the estimated cost forthe gasoline and the payment amount differ by more than a thresholdamount, detect a fraudulent charge.

Furthermore, the computer system may be configured to receive a paymentamount and a request to authorize payment for the gasoline; and/ortransmit an indication to the merchant communication terminal that thepayment is authorized.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may beprovided. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may store a set ofinstructions, that when executed on one or more processors in or on anautonomous vehicle, may cause the one or more processors to: (1)generate a virtual map display of a geographic area includingindications of merchant locations that accept vehicle payments, whereinthe merchant locations are preferred locations for a user as indicatedby user preferences; (2) determine, via a fuel level sensor, that anamount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicle is less than a thresholdamount of gasoline; and/or (3) select one of the merchant locationsincluded in the virtual map display which provides gasoline and acceptsvirtual payments. The set of instructions may further cause the one ormore processors to: (4) generate and provide navigation directions forthe autonomous vehicle to navigate to the selected merchant location;upon arriving at the selected merchant location, (5) transmit, to amerchant communication terminal at the merchant location, a request topurchase gasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; (6)upon detecting, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full, transmit a request to stop fueling thevehicle; and/or (7) receive an electronic receipt for the gasolinepumped into the autonomous vehicle by the merchant communicationterminal to facilitate commercial transactions using vehicle payments.The non-transitory computer-readable medium may include additional,fewer, or alternate components and/or functionality, including thatdiscussed elsewhere herein.

For instance, the merchant location may include a smart gas pump thatautomatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle; and/or inresponse to receiving the indication that the gas tank cover is open,the merchant communication terminal may cause the smart gas pump toprovide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle. The smart gas pump mayautomatically provide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle by extending amechanical arm attached to a nozzle into the gas tank opening of theautonomous vehicle.

The set of instructions may cause the one or more processors to open agas tank cover for the autonomous vehicle; and/or provide an indicationto the merchant communication terminal that the gas tank cover is openand an indication of a position of a gas tank opening for the autonomousvehicle.

Additionally, the set of instructions may cause the one or moreprocessors to measure (via the fuel level sensor) a change in the amountof gasoline within the gas tank of the autonomous vehicle; compare apayment amount indicated in the electronic receipt to an estimated costfor the gasoline based upon the change in the amount of gasoline; and/orwhen the estimated cost for the gasoline and the payment amount differby more than a threshold amount, detect a fraudulent charge.

Furthermore, the set of instructions may cause the one or moreprocessors to receive a payment amount and a request to authorizepayment for the gasoline; and/or transmit an indication to the merchantcommunication terminal that the payment is authorized.

FIG. 10 depicts another exemplary computer-implemented method ofreceiving goods or services via an autonomous vehicle and locatingmerchants that accept vehicle pay 1000. The method may include, via oneor more vehicle-mounted or merchant communication terminal-mountedprocessors, sensors, and/or transceivers, generating a virtual map ofmerchant locations that allow vehicle payments and that the userprefers, frequents, or typically uses along their daily commute viamachine learning 1002; receiving an indication that the driver orpassenger of the autonomous vehicle wants to receive a certain type ofgoods or services 1004; using the virtual map to determine or locate amerchant in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle (such as by using GPSlocations of the merchants and the autonomous vehicle) that allowsvehicle payments, and directing the autonomous vehicle to travel to thatmerchant that allows vehicle payment 1006; determining or detecting thatthe autonomous vehicle is within short-range wireless communicationrange of a merchant smart wireless communication terminal 1008;transmitting an order and virtual account information of the passengeror vehicle from the autonomous vehicle to be received at the merchantterminal via wireless communication or data transmission over theshort-range communication channel or radio link 1010; and/or generatingand transmitting an electronic notification that payment was receivedand that the vehicle gassing is completed at the communication terminal,or receiving such electronic notification at the autonomous vehicle1012. The method may include additional, less, or alternate actions,including those discussed elsewhere herein.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to receive goods orservices via an autonomous vehicle and locate merchants that acceptvehicle pay, the computer system may include one or more vehicle-mountedor merchant communication terminal-mounted processors, sensors, and/ortransceivers that are configured to: (1) generate a virtual map ofmerchant locations that allow vehicle payments and that the userprefers, frequents, or typically uses along their daily commute viamachine learning; (2) receive an indication that the driver or passengerof the autonomous vehicle wants to receive a certain type of goods orservices; (3) use the virtual map to determine or locate a merchant inthe vicinity of the autonomous vehicle (such as by using GPS locationsof the merchants and the autonomous vehicle) that allows vehiclepayments, and directing the autonomous vehicle to travel to thatmerchant that allows vehicle payment; (4) determine or detect that theautonomous vehicle is within short-range wireless communication range ofa merchant smart wireless communication terminal; (5) transmit an orderand virtual account information of the passenger or vehicle from theautonomous vehicle to be received at the merchant terminal via wirelesscommunication or data transmission over the short-range communicationchannel or radio link; and/or (6) generate and transmit an electronicnotification that payment was received and that the vehicle gassing iscompleted at the communication terminal, or receiving such electronicnotification at the autonomous vehicle to facilitate commercialtransactions via vehicle payment.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of receiving goods orservices via an autonomous vehicle and locating merchants that acceptvehicle pay may be provided. The method may include one or moreautonomous vehicle-mounted processors, sensors, and/or transceivers: (1)generating a virtual map of merchant locations that allow vehiclepayments and that the user prefers, frequents, or typically uses alongtheir daily commute via machine learning; (2) receiving an indicationthat the driver or passenger of the autonomous vehicle wants to receivea certain type of goods or services; (3) using the virtual map todetermine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle(such as by using GPS locations of the merchants and the autonomousvehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing the autonomousvehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehicle payment; (4)determining or detecting that the autonomous vehicle is withinshort-range wireless communication range of a merchant smart wirelesscommunication terminal; (5) transmitting an order and virtual accountinformation of the passenger or vehicle from the autonomous vehicle tobe received at the merchant terminal via wireless communication or datatransmission over the short-range communication channel or radio link;and/or (6) receiving an electronic notification that payment wasreceived and that the vehicle gassing is completed at the autonomousvehicle to facilitate commercial transactions via vehicle payment.

In another aspect, a computer system configured to receive goods orservices via an autonomous vehicle and locate merchants that acceptvehicle pay may be provided. The computer system may include one or moreautonomous vehicle-mounted processors, sensors, and/or transceivers thatare configured to: (1) generate a virtual map of merchant locations thatallow vehicle payments and that the user prefers, frequents, ortypically uses along their daily commute via machine learning; (2)receive an indication that the driver or passenger of the autonomousvehicle wants to receive a certain type of goods or services; (3) usethe virtual map to determine or locate a merchant in the vicinity of theautonomous vehicle (such as by using GPS locations of the merchants andthe autonomous vehicle) that allows vehicle payments, and directing theautonomous vehicle to travel to that merchant that allows vehiclepayment; (4) determine or detect that the autonomous vehicle is withinshort-range wireless communication range of a merchant smart wirelesscommunication terminal; (5) transmit an order and virtual accountinformation of the passenger or vehicle from the autonomous vehicle tobe received at the merchant terminal via wireless communication or datatransmission over the short-range communication channel or radio link;and/or (6) receive an electronic notification that payment was receivedand that the vehicle gassing is completed at the autonomous vehicle tofacilitate commercial transactions via vehicle payment.

The computer-implemented methods discussed herein may includeadditional, less, or alternate actions, including those discussedelsewhere herein. The methods may be implemented via one or more localor remote processors, transceivers, and/or sensors (such as processors,transceivers, and/or sensors mounted on vehicles or mobile devices, orassociated with smart infrastructure or remote servers), and/or viacomputer-executable instructions stored on non-transitorycomputer-readable media or medium.

Additionally, the computer systems discussed herein may includeadditional, less, or alternate functionality, including that discussedelsewhere herein. The computer systems discussed herein may include orbe implemented via computer-executable instructions stored onnon-transitory computer-readable media or medium.

XI. Additional Considerations

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments, it should be understood that the legalscope of the description is defined by the words of the claims set forthat the end of this patent and equivalents. The detailed description isto be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment since describing every possible embodiment would beimpractical. Numerous alternative embodiments may be implemented, usingeither current technology or technology developed after the filing dateof this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘ ’ is herebydefined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent tolimit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based upon any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. The patent claims at the end ofthis patent application are not intended to be construed under 35 U.S.C.§ 112(f) unless traditional means-plus-function language is expresslyrecited, such as “means for” or “step for” language being explicitlyrecited in the claim(s).

Accordingly, the term “vehicle” may refer to any of a number ofmotorized transportation devices. A vehicle may be a car, truck, bus,train, boat, plane, motorcycle, snowmobile, other personal transportdevices, etc.

As used herein, the terms “financial card,” “financial account,” and“virtual account” may be used to refer to any device or identifier thatenables the cardholder to make a payment via an electronic transfer offunds. For example, a financial card, financial account, or virtualaccount may include a credit card, a debit card, a gift card, a chargecard, a stored-value card, a rewards card, a bank account, a rewardsaccount, a pre-paid toll account, etc.

The term “point-of-sale (POS) terminal” as used herein may refer to anelectronic device used to process financial card payments at retaillocations. For example, a POS terminal may include a computer, a cashregister and/or other equipment or software for reading financial data,recording transactions, and/or communicating with a credit card networkto transfer funds.

As used herein, the term “establishment” may be used to refer to amerchant and/or retail location for selling goods or services tocustomers. For example, an establishment may include a restaurant, a gasstation, a car wash, a clothing store, a department store, a furniturestore, a grocery store, a convenience store, a dry cleaning store, apharmacy, a vehicle repair shop, etc.

The following additional considerations apply to the foregoingdiscussion. Throughout this specification, plural instances mayimplement components, operations, or structures described as a singleinstance. Although individual operations of one or more methods areillustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of theindividual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothingrequires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated.Structures and functionality presented as separate components in exampleconfigurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component.Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single componentmay be implemented as separate components. These and other variations,modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of thesubject matter herein.

Additionally, certain embodiments are described herein as includinglogic or a number of routines, subroutines, applications, orinstructions. These may constitute either software (e.g., code embodiedon a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) or hardware.In hardware, the routines, etc., are tangible units capable ofperforming certain operations and may be configured or arranged in acertain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems(e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or morehardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group ofprocessors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware module that operates to performcertain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) toperform certain operations. A hardware module may also compriseprogrammable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within ageneral-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that istemporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. Itwill be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware modulemechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or intemporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may bedriven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules may provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses) that connect the hardware modules. In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and may operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at leastpartially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of theoperations of a method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented hardware modules. The performance of certain ofthe operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment or as a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed amongthe one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine,but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments,the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modulesmay be distributed across a number of geographic locations.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using wordssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,”“presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions orprocesses of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transformsdata represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical)quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory,non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or othermachine components that receive, store, transmit, or displayinformation.

As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodimentsmay be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or moreelements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term“coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not indirect contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interactwith each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but may include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary,“or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example,a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true(or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of the description. Thisdescription, and the claims that follow, should be read to include oneor at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it isobvious that it is meant otherwise.

This detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and doesnot describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possibleembodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One may be implementnumerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this application.

We claim:
 1. A computer-implemented method of using an autonomousvehicle as an electronic payment device, the method comprising:determining, by one or more processors in an autonomous vehicle via afuel level sensor, that an amount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicleis less than a threshold amount of gasoline; identifying, by the one ormore processors, a merchant location that accepts vehicle payments;generating and providing, by the one or more processors, navigationdirections for the autonomous vehicle to navigate to the merchantlocation; determining, by the one or more processors, that the vehiclehas arrived at the merchant location; upon arriving at the merchantlocation: transmitting, by the one or more processors to a merchantcommunication terminal at the merchant location, a request to purchasegasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline; controlling, bythe one or more processors in the autonomous vehicle, a gas tank coverto open the gas tank cover; causing, by the one or more processors, agas pump at the merchant communication terminal to automatically providethe gasoline to the autonomous vehicle based on transmitting therequest; detecting, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full; and upon detecting that the gas tank isfull, transmitting, by the one or more processors, a request to themerchant communication terminal to stop fueling the vehicle.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: opening, by the one or moreprocessors, a gas tank cover for the autonomous vehicle; and providing,by the one or more processors, an indication to the merchantcommunication terminal that the gas tank cover is open and an indicationof a position of a gas tank opening for the autonomous vehicle.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the merchant location includes a smart gaspump that automatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle; andin response to receiving the indication that the gas tank cover is open,the merchant communication terminal causes the smart gas pump to providegasoline to the autonomous vehicle.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe smart gas pump automatically provides gasoline to the autonomousvehicle by extending a mechanical arm attached to a nozzle into the gastank opening of the autonomous vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: measuring, via the fuel level sensor, a change inthe amount of gasoline within the gas tank of the autonomous vehicle;comparing, by the one or more processors, a payment amount indicated inan electronic receipt to an estimated cost for the gasoline based uponthe change in the amount of gasoline; and when the estimated cost forthe gasoline and the payment amount differ by more than a thresholdamount, detecting, by the one or more processors, a fraudulent charge.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the one ormore processors, a payment amount and a request to authorize payment forthe gasoline; and transmitting, by the one or more processors, anindication to the merchant communication terminal that the payment isauthorized.
 7. A computer system configured to use an autonomous vehicleas an electronic payment device, the computer system comprising one ormore processors, sensors, and/or transceivers in or on an autonomousvehicle configured to: determine, via a fuel level sensor, that anamount of gasoline in the autonomous vehicle is less than a thresholdamount of gasoline; identify a merchant location that accepts vehiclepayments; generate and provide navigation directions for the autonomousvehicle to navigate to the merchant location; determine that the vehiclehas arrived at the merchant location; upon arriving at the merchantlocation: transmit, to a merchant communication terminal at the merchantlocation, a request to purchase gasoline including authorizing paymentfor the gasoline; cause a gas pump at the merchant communicationterminal to automatically provide the gasoline to the autonomous vehiclebased on transmitting the request; control, by the one or moreprocessors in the autonomous vehicle, a gas tank cover to open the gastank cover; detect, via the fuel level sensor, that a gas tank of theautonomous vehicle is full; and upon detecting that the gas tank isfull, transmit a request to the merchant communication terminal to stopfueling the vehicle.
 8. The computer system of claim 7, furtherconfigured to: open a gas tank cover for the autonomous vehicle; andprovide an indication to the merchant communication terminal that thegas tank cover is open and an indication of a position of a gas tankopening for the autonomous vehicle.
 9. The computer system of claim 8,wherein the merchant location includes a smart gas pump thatautomatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle; and inresponse to receiving the indication that the gas tank cover is open,the merchant communication terminal causes the smart gas pump to providegasoline to the autonomous vehicle.
 10. The computer system of claim 9,wherein the smart gas pump automatically provides gasoline to theautonomous vehicle by extending a mechanical arm attached to a nozzleinto the gas tank opening of the autonomous vehicle.
 11. The computersystem of claim 7, further configured to: measure, via the fuel levelsensor, a change in the amount of gasoline within the gas tank of theautonomous vehicle; compare a payment amount indicated in an electronicreceipt to an estimated cost for the gasoline based upon the change inthe amount of gasoline; and when the estimated cost for the gasoline andthe payment amount differ by more than a threshold amount, detect afraudulent charge.
 12. The computer system of claim 7, furtherconfigured to: receive a payment amount and a request to authorizepayment for the gasoline; and transmit an indication to the merchantcommunication terminal that the payment is authorized.
 13. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon a set ofinstructions that, when executed on one or more processors in or on anautonomous vehicle, causes the one or more processors to: determine, viaa fuel level sensor, that an amount of gasoline in the autonomousvehicle is less than a threshold amount of gasoline; identify a merchantlocation that accepts vehicle payments; generate and provide navigationdirections for the autonomous vehicle to navigate to the merchantlocation; determine that the vehicle has arrived at the merchantlocation; upon arriving at the merchant location: transmit, to amerchant communication terminal at the merchant location, a request topurchase gasoline including authorizing payment for the gasoline;control, by the one or more processors in the autonomous vehicle, a gastank cover to open the gas tank cover; cause a gas pump at the merchantcommunication terminal to automatically provide the gasoline to theautonomous vehicle based on the request; detect, via the fuel levelsensor, that a gas tank of the autonomous vehicle is full; and upondetecting that the gas tank is full, transmit a request to the merchantcommunication terminal to stop fueling the vehicle.
 14. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the set of instructionsfurther causes the one or more processors to: open a gas tank cover forthe autonomous vehicle; and provide an indication to the merchantcommunication terminal that the gas tank cover is open and an indicationof a position of a gas tank opening for the autonomous vehicle.
 15. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the merchant locationincludes a smart gas pump that automatically provides gasoline to theautonomous vehicle; and in response to receiving the indication that thegas tank cover is open, the merchant communication terminal causes thesmart gas pump to provide gasoline to the autonomous vehicle.
 16. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the smart gas pumpautomatically provides gasoline to the autonomous vehicle by extending amechanical arm attached to a nozzle into the gas tank opening of theautonomous vehicle.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 13,wherein the set of instructions further causes the one or moreprocessors to: measure, via the fuel level sensor, a change in theamount of gasoline within the gas tank of the autonomous vehicle;compare a payment amount indicated in an electronic receipt to anestimated cost for the gasoline based upon the change in the amount ofgasoline; and when the estimated cost for the gasoline and the paymentamount differ by more than a threshold amount, detect a fraudulentcharge.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the set ofinstructions further causes the one or more processors to: receive apayment amount and a request to authorize payment for the gasoline; andtransmit an indication to the merchant communication terminal that thepayment is authorized.